Freedom Planet: Life in Exile
by Mixedfan8643
Summary: Lilac the Dragon Girl has been sentenced to life in exile, banished from the kingdoms she'd once sworn to protect. As she grows accustomed to living life in the wilds though, she soon discovers who framed her for the atrocities she unwillingly committed and soon she and her friends find themselves facing Lilac's most personal and dangerous enemy yet. An enemy form her very past...
1. Chapter 1: The Wandering Dragon

_Chapter 1: The Wandering Dragon_

The huge red truck that cruised loudly and nosily through the quiet forest had no idea that it was being intercepted. The lone driver sitting up in the huge cab section of the enormous vehicle couldn't possibly have guessed for a minute that he was going to receive a visitor. He was now and it wasn't the kind of visitor he'd be happy to receive. It was more of the unwelcome guest variety of visitor. That visitor was following the truck right now, moving at speeds that defied all belief. The truck wasn't moving slowly in the slightest and yet the purple-skinned dragon girl that was following it was keeping up with very little effort as if the huge, heavy, six-wheeled vehicle was barely moving. The truck had a large cab section with a bed built behind the seats for the driver to rest on long journeys. It also had a nose section and a bumper with spikes on for no real reason other than to give the vehicle a slightly menacing appearance. The truck was also heavily armoured but that didn't seem to bother its pursuer. The little dragon girl kept chasing after it as if uncaring about the kind of thing it was up against.

The dragon girl was no ordinary dragon though. She was a very special kind of dragon, a water dragon with great martial arts skills and abilities and a fierce determination. She had saved the world from an alien world conqueror twice and had lived to tell about it. The dragon…was Sash Lilac.

It had been a whole, long, agonizing week since the poor heroine had been wrongfully exiled for things that were not her fault. It still burned in the back of Lilac's mind like a fire wanting to consume her very soul piece by piece. She wondered if the fire would still burn after her soul had been destroyed. Three weeks ago, she had fallen victim to a terrible plan executed by her two worst enemies, Lord Arktivus Brevon and Natalya the Lead Scarf. They had teamed up to traumatize her and make her snap so that the evil ancient relic, the Dark Stone, would corrupt her and make her a monster. It had worked too and although Lilac had been stopped by her friends, the damage had already been done. She had destroyed part of Shang Mu in her destructive rage as a Dark Stone Dragon but more than just Shang Mu had been damaged that day. Her reputation had too. People had started becoming afraid of her and wondering if she would attack them again. It wasn't helping how an old man named Timothy James Junipero Hamilton Franklin Turtle had started accusing her of being evil and plotting something. Two weeks she had suffered from this case of paranoia and distrust. Then the axe had finally fallen when some mysterious person had sprayed her with energy from the Dark Stone itself. She had turned evil, taken over Shang Tu and made horrific demands and made horrible threats. Her reputation was gone forever, never to be repaired by the damages that had been done. Although The Royal Magister of Shang Tu had rightfully believed Lilac was innocent, he had had no choice but to punish Lilac for the crimes she had unwillingly committed. And now here she was, living a life in exile and never to be in civilization again.

It had been a horrible experience for Lilac. Every day she felt an overwhelming sense of despair and loneliness that would drive anybody insane. But not her. She was too upset and depressed to even go mad from the loneliness. Every day of the week she had spent traversing the world like a leaf on a breeze. She had nowhere to go and nowhere to live. She was a vagabond, walking wherever the wind had taken her. She deeply missed her best friends Carol the Wildcat and Milla the Hound. Thinking about the two made her want to cry. How upset must they be feeling without her in their lives? They would hardly be their usual cheerful selves that much was certain. Lilac herself hadn't smiled since her time in exile. She'd constantly roamed around with a straight, grim or sullen face. Anybody who saw her would just assume she was some miserable, homeless kid who thought life wasn't far. In a way, that was what Lilac was. She spent most of the past week loathing the people of Avalice, angered at them for not believing her despite the good she had done for the world. She was sure that she now hated them. How could they have been so ungrateful?! She was the reason that the world wasn't wasting away from no energy and the reason Lord Brevon hadn't torn the world apart with the Dark Stone! She had even saved Christmas for heaven's sake! And she was repaid by people believing the obviously staged evidence and fake claims made against her and thinking she was evil? To hell with them! Those wretched people deserved to burn in hell for their ingratitude! If they ever wanted their lives saving again, they could forget it. She wasn't going to risk her life for them again.

It was precisely this mind-set as to why Lilac was now chasing the red truck that was carrying supplies to Shang Mu. The dragon would have recognized Shang Mu's delivery trucks from a mile away thanks to their heavily armoured design and red colours. Lilac had decided to make a living off of any supplies that the three kingdoms of Avalice required. They deserved to have their supplies stolen away for daring to believe she was a traitor and unfairly exiling her. She'd spent the worst week of her life in the wilderness because of them and they deserved to be punished for it. The truck Lilac was chasing was carrying food supplies for the Shang Mu shopping mall. Zao's Shopping Paradise was the biggest shopping mall in the red-coloured kingdom and Lilac felt happy to be robbing it. Zao had dared to think she used the Dark Stone on purpose and in a way, had been the cause of the seeds of doubt being sown in the kingdoms. If anybody deserved to lose their supplies, it was him. Lilac had known it was carrying food from the smell that had drifted into her nostrils as the truck had cruised by. And now she was after it. She'd raided a truck heading for Shang Tu on her first day in exile and had gotten through the supply of food that the crate had contained. Now she needed more food and it was there for her in the back of the red truck's enormous trailer. Lilac had promised herself to only steal ONE crate each time a truck went by. Stealing too many would arouse suspicions and Lilac would rather not get into more trouble than what she was already in.

The dragon ran on until finally grabbing hold of the handle that sealed the truck's trailer shut. Lilac hauled herself onto the trailer's bumper and pulled the lever up. The lever made a loud creaking noise as it was pulled up. The trailer door shut up, whisking Lilac up off her feet as she held on. The driver didn't stop or slow down, clearly not knowing what was going on in the back of the trailer. The dragon dropped down into the trailer, seeing a huge supply of steel crates all neatly stacked up. There were hundreds of them, enough to keep the shopping mall well supplied for weeks on end. The lovely smell of frozen food tickled her nose. There were many different foods in here from fish to burgers and even pizza and lots of Chinese and Japanese food. She even smelt sushi in one of the boxes. Lilac reached for the crate that smelt of sushi and vegetables and grabbed it. She hauled it towards the edge of the speeding truck, ready to throw it off and onto the grass. She then had a devious thought in her mind. Wouldn't it be wonderful if she stole TWO crates instead of one in this case? Zao deserved to lose more than one crate after all. It was the perfect way to spite the egotistical panda for doubting her. Lilac decided that she would indeed do it. Zao wouldn't miss two crates surely. Lilac grabbed another crate that had the smell of meat and fish inside and she pushed it towards the first crate. Lilac kicked both crates off, the heavy metal crashing down onto the soft soil and grass of the forest floor that stretched for miles around. The sound was muffled by the soft ground and the driver still didn't stop or slow down. He clearly hadn't seen or heard what had happened. He obviously wasn't looking at his rear view mirrors. Lilac smiled grimly, the first time in a week she had ever smiled. Mission accomplished. Now she had a bigger supply of food to live off of for the time being. She jumped out of the truck, leaving it thundering through the forest as it headed to its destination. The deposed heroine would let the driver come up with some half-baked excuse for the open hatch in the back of the trailer. Nobody would suspect it was her after all, which was why these missions were so successful. Being in exile, nobody would ever think she'd be responsible for the theft of several food crates.

Lilac ran over to the crates and carried them away, tugging both of them by their handles. They had handles so they could be easily carried. Their heavy steel build had easily survived the impact of their crash onto the grass and would have protected the food inside. Lilac could hardly wait for today's dinner when she got back to the closest thing she could call a home in this place. She was still living her life in exile in the Forest of Shards. To her, it was the closest thing to home as she lived out this horrible sentence. It was close enough to the forests in Dragon Valley for her to be satisfied although she had wandered outside the forest just to get a glimpse of the world beyond and to see what else she could find and explore. She hadn't seen much in a week and thus, she had decided to make her "home" camp in the forest. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing at least...

* * *

Dusk was beginning to spread its blanket of darkness over the Forest of Shards. Lilac had been quite far away from her camp as she'd been chasing the truck and it had taken her a long time to talk back. The heavy crates with their precious cargo were hardly helping matters, slowing her down due to the great weight of them. Lilac had finally arrived back at her camp and she positioned the two crates together. Her camp consisted of a shelter made of leaves and fallen twigs and a ring of stones with ashes in the centre. She had learnt how to build shelters with her late parents a long time ago. Before her treehouse in Dragon Valley, she'd build a shelter and lived in it. Then Carol had come into her life and she and the wildcat had decided to build something more homey. Lilac couldn't build a treehouse now without the right tools so the meagre shelter that passed as a house for her would have to do. It was very sturdy and kept her dry at night due to the mass amounts of leaves she'd put on top. The shelter was quite big too, roomy enough for her to stand up inside. It had taken her all day to build and she had built it on her first night in exile once she'd finally stopped crying about her sentence.

Lilac threw some twigs in-between the ring of stones and set to starting a fire so she could cook her evening meal. She rubbed two sticks together until they sparked and a lovely, warm fire started as the dry twigs were set alight by the sparks. The fire was warm and comforting to the dragon. It was as if it had become her only companion in some way, a companion that was always happy to make her feel better when the time came to see her again. Lilac allowed a moment to let the fire's warmth sooth her body before she opened the first crate. The crates were opened by turning a wheel on the back. The wheel pulled back a slot that firmly fastened the lid down as Lilac turned it. The lid was now free and Lilac opened it. There were packets of sushi and bags of garden peas in the crate. There was even more food underneath the sushi and peas and cubes of ice keeping them fresh and cool. Lilac took out two packets of sushi and one bag of peas. It was all she needed for the evening. Lilac decided to have her sushi cooked rather than raw for tonight. She crawled into her shelter and pulled out another crate she'd stolen from a truck before. The truck had been carrying furniture and supplies for rooms in a house such as a kitchen and had been heading for Shuigang. Lilac had stolen a crate containing pots and pans, things she really needed for her life in the forest. She got out a frying pan and opened up a packet of sushi. There were three rolls of sushi in the one packet and she put them into the pan. She held the pan over the fire and waited for it to cook. Lilac was hopeless at cooking, something she'd made clear to Milla's parents last week, but she knew that cooking on a campfire was not the same as cooking in a house. It was easier to use a campfire than an oven. All she had to do was let the fire heat up her food and that was it, plain and simple. She could also see and smell the food as it cooked, making it less likely for her to burn it. The dragon wouldn't have any problems as she cooked her dinner.

Lilac's nose twitched gleefully as the sweet, fishy smell of sushi trickled into her nostrils. Sushi not only tasted nice, it smelt very nice too, especially when it was cooking. She waited until she was certain that the sushi was fully cooked before bringing the pan away from the fire and setting it down onto the grass to cool. She waited a few seconds before picking up one roll of sushi and biting into it. She had no cutlery or chopsticks so she ate with her hands. She'd been eating this way for a whole week and although the food was nice, Lilac would much rather be sitting at a table and eating off of a plate with a knife and fork or a pair of chopsticks in hand than sitting on the grass in front of a campfire and eating with her fingers. Lilac finished her first roll of sushi and picked up another one. She paused for a moment, staring at the food in her hand as if it could somehow solve all her problems. She sighed. The sushi was making her think about Carol and Milla. They loved sushi too. Would they be eating some themselves back at home? Would they even have the stomach to eat anything or would they be too depressed to feel hungry? It made Lilac worry if the two would be so depressed over her exile that they'd end up starving themselves to death. If that happened then she knew who to blame for it.

"Oh Carol…oh Milla…I miss you both so much…" the dragon mumbled, "I wish I could see you both again…and I wish I could see Mr. and Mrs. Basset and Natalya again. Why did I have to be exiled? Why?!"

She sighed again, trying to hold back tears. She'd cried enough, she couldn't bear to do it again. Crying wasn't going to solve her problems so there was no point to it. Once Lilac had composed herself again, she continued eating. If she was going to survive her life in exile, she wasn't going to starve. Plus, there was always a chance that somebody would discover she was innocent and the leaders of the three kingdoms would overturn her sentence. What good would that do if she was dead? Lilac wasn't sure if she'd forgive everybody so quickly though. Maybe she never would. Maybe they didn't deserve forgiveness. Either way if her sentence was overturned, she'd be happy to return and be back in her friend's lives. To hell with the people of Avalice, her friends were the only ones who deserved her kindness and generosity at this point. She'd cater to their needs and nobody else.

Very soon, Lilac had finished her first batch of sushi and before going to cook her second batch, she picked up a second pan, this one larger and denser than the frying pan, from the crate of supplies and walked off to a nearby stream. The stream was three minutes away from the campsite and was very fresh and clean. The water was perfect for drinking or bathing in and Lilac had used it for precisely those reasons. The dragon knelt down by the stream and she filled the pan with water. She had more than she needed but that was the idea. Some of it would be used for drinking and the rest would be use for boiling the peas. She remembered seeing on the bags that peas have to be boiled in water and despite her bad cooking skills, it was one of the few things she didn't have a problem with. Peas weren't exactly hard to cook. Lilac raised the pan to her lips and gulped down a few swallows of water. She felt better after that. Then she returned to the camp and set the pan down beside her while she opened her second packet of sushi. She'd eat the peas after the sushi. As Lilac sat there with the fire blazing under her frying pan again, she allowed herself to think aloud about the recent events that had led to this new life.

"It's amazing to think that the Dark Stone led to all of this…" she muttered, "How I wish I'd never heard of that death gem! But who managed to get its energy after it was destroyed? And why would somebody use it on me to turn me evil and get me exiled?"

She sighed uneasily as bad vibes began to tingle inside her.

"I have a bad feeling about all this…I'm dead certain that there's something more sinister behind what's happened." Lilac said, "But what is it? And who's responsible? And what are they hoping to achieve with me gone?"

Her brain whirled as she tried to find the answer but to her annoyance, she came up empty. She couldn't quite work out what was behind her getting exiled. She was sure that she should know but try as she might, she couldn't work it out. Lilac decided to give up and looked back over at her sushi. It was done and she took the pan away from the fire again to let it cool. Once it was cool enough, she tucked into the sushi. She savoured the sweet taste of rice and fish as if every mouthful she took was precious to her. Once she'd finished the sushi, she opened up the bag of peas and poured a portion of them into the pan full of water. She had plenty of peas left for next time. She put the pea bag back into the crate so it could stay cool for next time she needed it and she held the pan over the fire to let the peas boil.

"I sure hope my friends are OK…and I wonder if they're looking for evidence to prove my innocence." the dragon mused, "If they can get my exile sentence overturned, I will be the happiest girl in the world."

She smiled weakly at the pleasant thought. But would it come true? Would her friends actually succeed in proving her innocence? Would anybody believe them if they did try to prove it? Lilac hoped that the answer to all of those questions was "yes". She focused back onto her pan of peas, watching as the water began to bubble as the campfire heated the pan. With any luck, this life wouldn't last any longer. She'd be back home in civilization and could forget that this had ever happened. And yet that day seemed very, very far away…and Lilac couldn't see it coming any time soon…

* * *

The atmosphere in Lilac's treehouse was the same as it had been for a whole week: morbid and depressed. There was no real reason for its occupants to feel happy at all. How could they when the owner of the house was no longer living with them? The treehouse wasn't quite the same without Lilac in it. It was if the house had lost some of its identity when the dragon had been sentenced to exile. It was no longer Lilac's treehouse. Just a treehouse with nothing special about it.

There were five people in the treehouse and all of them were pretty gloomy just as they had been all week. There was Milla the Hound and her parents Miguel and Lela, Natalya the Dragon and Lilac's very best friend and the one effected the most deeply by Lilac's exile, Carol the Wildcat. Carol had been by Lilac's side since the dragon had saved her from a bunch of thugs that were trashing her motorbike. Carol considered Lilac the closest thing to a sister she'd ever had and loved her deeply. She'd never been so close to anybody in her life. And now her best friend was gone, never to be seen again. Carol felt that not only had she lost her best friend, she had lost a very valuable part of her life. A very valuable part of her life that she likely wouldn't get back or ever be able to replace. The wildcat had suffered the most from Lilac's exile this past week. She'd barely eaten or slept and looked pretty dreadful right now. She had dark rings under her eyes and she looked as if she was beginning to get thinner. It was unusual given how she was usually the biggest eater in the house. Now the hounds and dragon were lucky if Carol even ate a small portion of food. She was too depressed to bother about her stomach and Miguel and Lela began wondering if they'd have to force feed her just to make sure she didn't starve herself to death. If Lilac's sentence was ever over-turned, she wouldn't be happy to come home and find her best friend wasting away.

Right about now it was dinner time and the Basset family laid the table with plates full of barbecue pork and rice, one of Miguel and Lela's favourite meals. Their dinners came with a side of poppadums, something Milla loved to have on the side whenever they had this meal. Everybody had sat down to the table to eat. Even Carol had. The wildcat wasn't feeling any better but her lack of eating lately had begun to catch up to her. Her stomach ached and she couldn't bear it so she decided that although she barely had any appetite, she may as well eat a proper meal to settle her craving stomach. The five Avalicians ate their meals in total silence, not really sure what to talk about. Anytime they started up a conversation it ended up being about Lilac and that just ended up making everybody upset. Once the food had all been eaten and the empty plates pushed aside, Natalya decided to speak. It was more to kill the uncomfortable, morbid silence than anything.

"That was quite nice thank you." she said politely, "You two are very good cooks."

"Thanks." said Lela, a weak smile on her face, "I'm glad everybody enjoyed it. Even you Carol." she added, looking over at the wildcat.

"Yeah. It was great. Thanks." Carol muttered.

"I'm just glad you ate the whole lot for once Carol." Miguel said sternly, "You keep eating like that from now on, we don't want you wasting away after all."

"Yeah. Whatever." the tomboy feline said glumly.

Milla stared at her friend with sympathy and despair. She didn't like seeing Carol in this terrible state. It made her feel sad and with no Lilac to make her feel any better, she felt even worse.

"Please cheer up Carol. We don't like seeing you like this." the kind-hearted hound said softly.

"Why? What good will cheering up do?!" Carol snapped angrily, "My best friend's probably wasting away in some wilderness due to the stupidity of our kingdom's leaders and you expect me to cheer up?!"

"The wilds will have food for her…" Milla protested, "I should know, I was living alone in the wilds myself and I turned out OK."

"Good point…if you can survive in the wilderness then so can Lilac and she's older than you are…" the wildcat murmured, "But still, what is there to be happy about? Lilac's gone forever, I'm never gonna see her again and neither are you! Natalya even became Lilac's adopted mom after she said yes to her offer! Lilac's mom was Natalya's best friend and Lilac's the next best thing in her eyes! How do you think she feels right now?"

"For your information Carol, I've actually been keeping my emotions under control as it isn't healthy to let them tear you apart." the dragon said firmly, "I miss my beloved little dragon but unlike you, I know that constantly crying about it isn't going to solve anything. We should remain optimistic and hope that things turn out better for us. After all, I have spent the last week investigating on the matter."

"And how well is that turning out Little Miss No-Longer-A-Criminal?" Carol retorted, "Oh yeah, it's going horribly because you haven't found anything yet! I see we go find Lilac and bring her back here so that she doesn't have to be alone anymore!"

"And what good will that do?" Natalya snapped, "You'll just make things worse for her! If anybody finds out she's violating her sentence, she could be thrown in jail for life! It's high treason to violate your sentence!"

"So you'd rather Lilac be alone and miserable for the rest of her life?!"

"How dare you! I don't want that at all! I want Lilac back as badly as you do! But we have to do it legally so she won't get into more trouble!"

"Please stop fighting you two! You're making me upset!" whimpered Milla, "I don't like it when friends argue!"

"We're very sorry Milla." Natalya said softly, reaching over to pat the distressed dog on the back, "It's just…you know how badly Lilac's absence is effecting all of us. It's hard to keep our emotions in check at this point."

"I agree." Lela sighed, "I've found it very hard to keep my spirits up this very week. I constantly feel like the slightest mention of Lilac's name will make me break down."

"I share those feelings darling." Miguel said sadly, "I really miss that wonderful dragon. She was an amazing girl and thanks to her, we were reunited with our little Milla. I'm very grateful to her for that. I want her back…"

"Me too daddy." said Milla, looking as if ready to cry again, "I miss her so much!"

"You and me both sister." said Carol gloomily, "I want nothing more than my best friend back. Lilac was my whole world. She made my life wonderful and I enjoyed being with her. I…I want her back…I want her back so badly!"

Unable to contain herself anymore, Carol got up from her chair and ran out of the room, sobbing her broken heart out once again. The sobs grew fainted as she ran up into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She now had the bunk bed to herself but in the week she'd spent in exile, she hadn't once slept in the top bunk as if afraid she was dishonouring her best friend by taking her bed. Natalya shook her head sadly, feeling deeply sorry for the cat that had once been one of her disciples.

"That poor, poor girl…" she said, "Carol's never going to make it with Lilac's absence clawing away at her. We have to help her."

"But what can we do?" asked Miguel curiously, "We can't just bring Lilac back or she'll be arrested for treason."

"We don't have to bring her back…we have to make the royals bring her back." Natalya announced, "We have to find evidence that will prove she's innocent and then the royals will have no choice but to overturn her exile. I know I've looked for evidence all week and turned up empty handed but just because you don't find something now, it doesn't mean you won't find it later. Also…maybe all of you can help me. Hounds have good noses, you'll probably be able to sniff something out."

"That's a great idea!" Milla exclaimed excitedly, "Tomorrow, all five of us can search for clues that'll prove Lilac's a good dragon and get her back!"

"Carol would love that." Lela said brightly, "We'll do just that, search the kingdoms for proof of innocence so we can get Lilac back."

"We'll have to wait until the elections tomorrow have concluded." Natalya noted, "Last thing we want is any of the kingdoms thinking we're up to no good on a day as important as that. We can't attract attention to ourselves."

"I agree." the female hound nodded, "We'll wait until the elections are over and then begin the search. We can watch the elections on TV so we now when they're over."

"Sounds a plan to me." the former villainess said with a smile, "Tomorrow, we will begin our quest to prove my adopted daughter's innocence. And then we can all finally have her back home where she belongs."

The hounds all smiled gleefully at this idea. It was a very lovely thought and they couldn't wait to begin. They could imagine how happy Carol would be to hear their plan too. She'd be the happiest she had been all week and with any luck, her happiness would be here to stay at long last…

* * *

Not all of Avalice was in a grim mood right about now. There was at least one place in the world that was happy and cheerful. However, this person was not happy and cheerful for the right reasons at all. He was happy and cheerful because tomorrow was going to mark the day that he became ruler of at least one of Avalice's three kingdoms. That kingdom was Shang Mu, the only kingdom that was up for new elections tomorrow. Shang Tu and Shuigang held theirs at different times so they wouldn't be seeking new leaders for a while now. Shang Mu would see a new leader or Mayor Zao be re-elected and continue his reign as Mayor of Shang Mu. Either way, it was a day that was going to end well for the red-skinned dragon that was smiling at himself in a mirror but not for anybody else.

Memphis was feeling all a tingle over tomorrow. He had been the one responsible for getting Lilac exiled, hiring Timothy Turtle to act like he hated dragons so that he could get people to doubt Lilac and then carried out a few other clever tricks to fool the populace into thinking the dragon was a vile villainess. He had even been the one to spray her full of Dark Stone Energy and hammer the final nail into Lilac's coffin. And he'd done all of this without being suspected. How stupid could the people of Avalice be? Memphis had almost been insulted that they were so easily manipulated. But it had been worth it, every minute of it. He was going to get what he wanted, power and the honour of being a dragon on the throne. What bliss! He could practically see himself sleeping in Mayor Zao's chambers right now.

Timothy was still an important part in his deadly game. He had signed up for the elections and as the week had gone by, he'd gained a lot of support for his declarations that the world would be free from the evils that the dragon race threatened them with. Mayor Zao had tried to gain some support himself but he didn't seem to be getting as much as he'd hoped. Not a lot of people liked him due to his arrogant attitude and Timothy sounded a lot more genuine and pleasant when he had made his speeches. He'd promised Shang Mu that they would be protected and safe from dragons and the kingdom would be more powerful than it had ever been before. Memphis had watched the whole thing in his usual disguise of course, not trusting Timothy to do it unobserved since he expected the old turtle to try and double cross him. Timothy had seen him in the audience and of course, did what he was told. Memphis had even voted for Timothy himself, but he'd cheated by slipping in more than one vote into the box when no one was looking. His reptilian comrade would have more votes than he should have when the votes were counted.

Memphis was in Timothy's home right about now, admiring himself in the antique mirror that he liked so much in the turtle's old fashioned house. Timothy himself was asleep. He was old and needed a long hours' worth of sleep every night. So he left Memphis alone to admire himself in his mirror. Maybe he'd swipe the mirror from Timothy and hang it on the wall in his new room when he got his rightful place tomorrow. He did plan to dispose of the turtle when he was no longer useful so he would hardly miss it. Memphis smiled a charming smile as if he was trying to seduce his own reflection.

"You look perfect Memphis…" he crooned smoothly to himself, his deep voice and British accent making his words sound a mixture of posh and sinister, "Just perfect for your upcoming role as Mayor of Shang Mu. Soon to be ruler of all three kingdoms…"

He chuckled softly at the mirror. The reflection chuckled back, clearly delighted with the dragon that was looking at it.

"Too long has the dragon race been denied its rightful place…" he muttered, his expression becoming darker and more serious, "Why are there pandas on the thrones of Shang Mu and Shuigang? I have no idea what The Magister is but I bet like the previous ones, he's some mangy old bird who doesn't deserve his power. All Avalicians are below us. The dragons inspired the three kingdoms so a dragon should be the one to rule them."

His expression lightened up, his evil smile spreading back across his face.

"And now tomorrow, that day will come." the red-skinned dragon gloated, "Timothy will easily win the elections tomorrow and then he'll give me his position…and my reign will begin."

Memphis laughed again, feeling very pleased with himself for what he'd done to get this far.

"The most wonderful thing about all of this is that my brat of a niece won't be able to interfere." he crowed, "That poor, stupid child…I hope she's suffering horribly in her life in exile. Ha, ha, ha…I'm amazed the people of Avalice quickly turned against her after that incident with the Dark Stone three weeks ago. I must thank Natalya and this…Lord Brevon person for presenting me with such an opportunity. They gave me the chance I had to demonize my niece's image and get her exiled. Now Dawn and Stephen's child will join them in the afterlife after she inevitably wastes away out in the wilds. Pity I couldn't have used her though…"

He looked away from the mirror and down at his trademark walking stick, which was really an energy conductor in disguise and housed the Dark Stone's energy.

"Yes…such a pity…after I'd killed Dawn and Stephen, I could have told the child that they'd been murdered by somebody and that I would look after her." Memphis sighed as he thought of what could have been, "I could have corrupted her and made her my perfect little pet assassin. Lilac was a gifted child and her talents would have benefited me greatly. But she just had to ruin all that by witnessing the murder and running away! No matter, she's gone forever so I don't have to worry about her. She can't get in my way and that's the end of it. I wonder how long she'll last before she wastes away into nothing out there in the wilds?"

He cackled menacingly as he pictured Lilac lying on the ground, weak from hunger and begging for somebody to help her. Help wouldn't come for her though. There wasn't a civilization for miles around outside of the three kingdoms. She'd be dead before she ever reached any of the outer territories. If she lived in the forest then she probably wouldn't last very long. Although Memphis didn't like killing children, he'd be happy to hear if Lilac did die during her life in exile. Very few people who were sentenced to exile ever did survive after all. With nothing else to stay up for, Memphis turned on his heels and walked towards the spare bedroom that Timothy had. He wondered why his old apprentice even had a spare room since he lived alone. Had he been married once? Was his wife dead if that was the case? Memphis didn't care. It was none of his business. He walked into the bedroom and prepared to change into his night clothes for bed. The bedroom was, of course, very old fashioned looking with an antique bed and pillow and sheets. Even the bedside light looked outdated. It annoyed Memphis. Why did Timothy feel the need to surround himself in nostalgia? Was he really so sickeningly sentimental about the past that he felt the need to gather it all up into one house and live in it? It didn't matter anymore. Soon he'd be living in a luxurious palace and he'd be surrounded by something more suited to his tastes. It was a lovely image and tomorrow, it would come true.

"I wonder what the palace life will be like…?" Memphis crooned softly, imagining himself endorsing himself in endless luxury and being spoilt like there was no tomorrow.

It was a life he'd always dreamed of and his dream was soon going to become very real. Tomorrow was going to be a very, very good day for him…

* * *

 _ **Yeah, what a lovely start I know. (sarcasm) Lilac's very lonely and isolated, her friends are in a morbid state though it looks as if things are looking up for them as they now have a plan and it seems that Memphis is about to get what he's after. What will happen next? Tune in next time as we gather around for "Election Day"...**_


	2. Chapter 2: Election Day

_Chapter 2: Election Day_

 _It was night time in the luxurious house that stood proudly in the centre of Shang Tu, glistening in the moonlight as it shone on its gleaming, aqua-blue paint job. The house was very big, big enough to house several people, and was a very wealthy establishment. There were many rooms, all of them spacious, and there was even a balcony with a beautiful view of the kingdom all around. Every inch of the house was designed to impress and amaze with even the very floors looking somewhat fabulous. Few people would ever have afforded to live in it. It cost several thousand tim-tams and crystal shards to buy. The family that lived in the house was of course, an opulent family. They had done well in their lives and could afford to live in the house and run it. The family was the dragon family. There were three dragons that lived in the house. There was a mother, a father and their ten-year old daughter. Their names were Dawn, Stephen and Lilac. Dawn and Stephen had been married for eleven years and had raised Lilac up for the past ten years, treating her like a princess and make sure she was well-fed, looked after and tutored. Lilac loved her life in the big house with her loving parents and enjoyed spending time with them. They were her whole life and she loved them very much just as Dawn and Stephen loved her. Sadly, their lives were about to change…in the worst way possible._

 _Lilac was tucked up in her absurdly large bed, snuggling peacefully under the warm sheets that were, like the rest of the house, expensive and made for comfort. Her bed was the right size for an adult, maybe two adults, but not for a ten year old girl. The dragon didn't mind though. She'd often joked that it would be harder for her to roll out of bed. Lilac wasn't quite asleep yet. She'd been lying in bed for half an hour, tossing and turning as she began to relax and settle down for the evening. She wasn't a bad sleeper but she usually took a few minutes to fall asleep. It was half past nine. She was usually out before ten o' clock. But the young dragon wasn't feeling very comfortable. Her throat felt dry as if she hadn't had a drink for days. She was thirsty. Lilac hated going to bed feeling thirsty or hungry. It made it harder for her to fall asleep. Lilac decided to get up and get a drink of water. She knew that her mother or father would sternly tell her off for getting out of bed but she'd tell them that she was only getting a drink, nothing to worry about. Stretching, Lilac climbed out of bed and left her bedroom. She had no idea that this would be the last she'd ever see of it as she walked downstairs to the kitchen. The stairway was long and Lilac took a few minutes to get to the bottom, walking slowly and quietly so as not to make any sound._

 _She reached the bottom of the stairs and noticed that the kitchen door was open a crack and there was light spilling out between it, cutting a neat line through the shadows. Lilac knew that her mother or father would be in the kitchen cleaning up. They always did that before they went to bed. Lilac walked carefully towards the door but as she got closer, she suddenly realized something. She could hear voices. There was Dawn's angelic voice, the voice she loved to hear day after day. There was another voice too, this one rather smooth yet threatening sounding. Lilac could just make out some words and began to shudder as she heard what was being said._

 _"Memphis? W-what a-are y-you doing here?" Dawn asked, her voice wobbly, "W-w-why h-have y-you g-got that knife?"_

 _Lilac's heart missed a beat. Her uncle Memphis was here and he had a knife? Was he going to attack Dawn with it? She reached the door and opened it slightly, almost afraid to peek inside and see what was happening. She could hardly breathe. She watched with terror as Dawn's back came against the wall, her eyes fixed with fear as Memphis advanced on her, weapon in hand and ready to strike. She'd never seen her beloved mother looking so frightened in her life. Lilac watched as Memphis smiled wickedly at her mother. He was obviously enjoying himself, delighted at the thought of doing what he was about to do._

 _"I still haven't forgiven you for upsetting my beloved Natalya…" he said softly, his voice pleasant yet dangerous at the same time, "And I especially haven't forgiven you for your hurtful remarks about my cult. You dare to insult the proud name of the dragons by demonizing my friends…and now you're going to die for it."_

 _"No! Please! Don't!" Dawn whimpered, "Please Memphis, don't hurt me!"_

 _Memphis ignored his pleading sister-in-law as he aimed at her heart and stabbed down with the knife. The dragon let out one final gasp for breath as the knife plunged into her chest, killing her instantly. Her eyes were wide open and unfocused as her body fell limp against the wall. Lilac watched the scene in total horror, unable to so much as scream. Her thirst was forgotten about as pure terror gripped her by the throat. She was petrified. Her own uncle had just murdered her own mother! Why had he done it?! Was he going to attack her next? Just as Memphis allowed Dawn's dead body to slump down onto the floor, Stephen ran in and let out a shriek that rattled the window panes. He'd been outside making sure the garden was normal before hearing his wife begging for mercy. He had arrived just in time to see his beautiful maiden fall down dead on the floor, blood pouring out of her chest._

 _"DAWN!" he screamed, "Memphis…w…w…why?!"_

 _"She deserved it! She insults our very name!" the red-skinned dragon ranted, "She had to die lest she live to ruin the dragon name even further! And you're next brother!"_

 _"You bastard…I'm gonna kill you for this!" the blue-skinned dragon shouted, "Dawn was my whole life! My daughter's too! How do you think she's going to feel when she sees what you've done?!"_

 _"I'll take good care of the child, don't worry about that Stephen…" Memphis said sinisterly, completely unaware that his niece was outside the kitchen watching everything that had happened._

 _The dragon's eyes widened as Memphis lashed out at Stephen with the knife. Stephen reacted very quickly, catching his brother's wrist with his hand and keeping the knife away from him. Stephen was very strong, strong enough to match Memphis. But the dragon had a cunning plan in mind. As his brother kept his hand away, the red-scaled dragon suddenly lashed out with his foot and kicked Stephen in the legs, tripping him up and bringing him down onto the floor. Stephen cried out as he hit the floor and before he could even get up, Memphis threw the knife down and struck him directly in the back. The blue dragon gasped as he was impaled and he reached out helplessly as if hoping to strike Memphis before he died. Then Stephen lay still on the floor, his eyes closed for the last time. Blood seeped out of the wound in his back and it only got worse as Memphis pulled the bloody knife out of his deceased brother. Lilac cringed as she heard the sound of metal scraping against flesh. She couldn't believe what had happened. She'd just witnessed her own uncle murdering her own parents! Memphis would be coming to kill her now! He had promised her father he'd take good care of her. He had to be talking about wanting to kill her. Lilac could no longer feel her pounding heart as she got up onto her feet and ran for her life just as Memphis walked towards the kitchen door. She had to escape before the knife could be turned on her. But the child was too slow. Memphis opened the door and saw Lilac running away. He threw the knife at her, the blade glistening in the moonlight that shone through the window. It came whizzing towards the dragon's back like an arrow heading for a target. The dragon couldn't escape, the knife was going to hit her and then she'd be dead like her parents were. She ran faster but the knife still headed towards her and then…_

* * *

"NO!" Lilac screamed loudly.

She sat up quickly and panted heavily, already feeling her back and expecting to find the knife that had claimed her life sticking out behind it. There was no knife. She was alive. She hadn't been killed after all. Sighing contently, Lilac lay back down on the grass and looked up at her shelter. She was still in it, watching as the sunlight tried to peer through the masses of leaves that kept her dry and in the dark at night. She was still in exile. The dream she had just had hadn't been real at all.

"Whew…what a nightmare…" the dragon gasped, "Haven't had that one for ages…"

She sighed as she played back the terrible dream. She remembered having it for the first few weeks she'd spent on her own after the death of her parents. She hadn't had it again after joining the Red Scarves and befriending Carol. So why had she suddenly had it now? Was it because she had her parents on her mind more than ever due to Natalya's past association with them and the need to be looked after now she was living in the wilds? Or was the dream trying to tell her something? The dragon had no idea. Maybe it was some kind of message, but one she could decipher. She shrugged it off. It was just a dream, nothing more.

"I hope I don't have that dream again…" Lilac murmured worriedly, "Oh well, I can start the day with a nice cool bathe in the stream and make some breakfast."

The exiled dragon sat up and stretched for a moment before crawling out from underneath her shelter and embracing the warm sunlight of the morning. It was absolutely beautiful this morning, the sun clear and bright and the sky void of any clouds. The bluish green leaves of the trees seemed to shine slightly as the sun's rays beamed over them. Lilac had to admit that the Forest of Shards had a certain beauty that made the place a pleasant new home for her. It was a pity that she wasn't sharing this place with anybody else though. If she and her friends were here together, her stay in this forest would be so much better. Curse the Magister and the people of the kingdoms for bringing this upon her! Lilac now felt more lonely than ever just thinking about how much nicer it would be if her friends were here with her now. She even felt like she wanted to see her beloved Torque again. Torque was an alien who had helped her and her friends take out Lord Brevon last year. He had also been present on Christmas Day and once again during the incident with the Dark Stone three weeks ago. Lilac had confessed her love for Torque and even kissed him. If Torque came to Avalice now, what would he think to the dragon's life in exile? Would he be horrified to hear what had become of her? Would he try to prove her innocence? It was a very nice thought to imagine Torque using whatever fancy tech and gizmos he had in his parlour to search for evidence that proved she was innocent. Lilac now even hoped that Torque would come to Avalice again and do just that. She even wondered how nicely he was recovering from his ordeal with Dark Stone Brevon three weeks ago. Last time she'd seen him, he'd been injured badly. Was he OK now? He likely was and Lilac smiled at the thought.

She put aside her loneliness and her desire to be around people as she headed off to the stream she had gotten the water from for her peas last night. The empty packets of sushi had been stuffed in the crates as Lilac did not want to start littering the place and her pans had been wiped clean for another use. She'd use the frying pan to make herself eggs and bacon for breakfast after her wash. The two crates contained both items and Lilac was rather looking forward to tucking into them. The dragon reached the stream after three minutes had passed and she watched it flowing gently over the stones in the water. The stream was beautiful to look at, especially on a sunny day like this. The water was so clear that Lilac could see the dirt and algae that lay below the surface. She'd have preferred a nice hot bath in a real bathtub back at her treehouse but she knew that bathing in a stream was better than allowing herself to get dirty and smelly. Lilac quickly stripped off all of her clothes and jumped into the stream, sending water splashing everywhere. Her clothes lay in a pile on the bank as the dragon lay back in the lovely, refreshing water. It wasn't too cold for the previous day and last night had been quite warm and the morning was also quite warm. Lilac sighed contently as she allowed herself to soak up the water. She closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and serenity all around her. There was one good thing about her life in exile and that was how peaceful and quiet it was. It was quite pleasant although Lilac wasn't used to so much peace and quiet. She needed to be around people. She needed to be playing with her friends, she needed people to talk to. The loneliness that plagued began to creep up on her once again and Lilac's face fell as she felt it once again.

"Oh why did I have to be exiled…and why do I have to live in a place with no people around?" she moaned, "It's not fair!"

The dragon punched at the water in fury as she thought about the terrible moment where her sentence was delivered.

"I feel so lonely…so lost and alone!" Lilac whined, "And all thanks to those stupid people refusing to believe me and those stupid rulers for listening to the people and giving me this sentence! If I spend another week like this I'm going to go insane! Maybe I've already gone insane; I'm talking to myself now!"

She sighed as she looked down at a reflection of her beautiful face in the water. The reflection displayed her mood perfectly though Lilac hardly needed to see her own face to know what she was feeling. She almost felt as if her reflection was another person who was here to sympathize with her and hear her grief. It was a pity it wouldn't be able to hug her and comfort her. Lilac sighed and looked away as if ashamed of her own despair.

"I want my home…I want my friends again…and I want my honour back too…" the dragon said sadly, "All those things precious to me…and they're all back in my old life. My wonderful, wonderful old life. A life that's been taken away from me by a bunch of idiots, a paranoid turtle and whoever it was that sprayed me with the Dark Stone's energy! I just want my life back…I really do…"

Lilac lay back in the water and allowed the stream to sweep over her slender, perfect body as if hoping it would somehow comfort her. She closed her eyes and tried her hardest not to break down in tears while she was bathing. The water soothed her nerves and she was finding herself beginning to feel at peace again. As she began to relax though, a sudden thought popped into her mind. Her eyes widened and she was suddenly racking her brain as she turned the thought over in her mind. The dream that had woken her up had given her an idea of some sort.

"Somebody sprayed me with Dark Stone energy…was the dream trying to tell me something about who it might be?" she mused, "No…that can't be. Memphis has been gone for six years. He must surely be dead now. He can't be responsible. He killed mom and dad, why would he just get me exiled? Surely he'd want to kill me too if he was alive…and yet…why did I have the dream? Is it really trying to tell me something? And if so, could it have been my uncle who's done this to me? I guess I'll find out…if I'm ever allowed to come back."

The dragon pushed her thoughts out of her mind as she sat up and started rubbing herself all over in the water. She bathed for a few more minutes before finally climbing out of the stream and shaking herself dry. Being a water dragon, she had quite enjoyed the dip in the stream and maybe on day when she felt more happy and optimistic, she'd use it for swimming instead of bathing for a change. Lilac made sure that nobody was watching as she picked up her clothes and put them all back on. It would be a big insult to injury if somebody had actually seen her unchanging earlier and now watched her get dressed. She'd be humiliated to no end. Luckily she had been alone the whole time, just as she had been for a whole week now. Lilac got dressed again and she began heading off back to her camp, looking forward to her breakfast.

But as she arrived back at the camp three minutes later, she noticed something extremely odd. The food crates had gone! She had left them sitting by her shelter but now they'd been taken away! There were flat squares in the grass where they had once been and nothing more. The crates must have been swiped while she had been bathing. Lilac let out a shrilling squeal of surprise.

"My food!" she yelped, "What the heck?! Where's it gone?! Has Mayor Zao found out they've been stolen and gotten them back? No, that's preposterous. I would have heard him! Maybe…maybe I'm not alone after all?"

The question filled her with some sort of hope. If she wasn't alone in the Forest of Shards then maybe she wouldn't be living her life in solitude as she served her sentence. Maybe she could have somebody to talk to at long last. Maybe she could see where this person lived and if they had a house, she wouldn't have to live in the woods anymore. She could be in civilization again! But at the same time, the woods could easily contain savage carnivores that would sooner tear her apart than look at her. Avalice had its own kind of wildlife of strange creatures that looked alien in comparison to the animalistic appearances of the Avalicians that populated the planet. Maybe the woods were full of animals and they wanted her food. Either way, Lilac wasn't going to be denied her breakfast. She needed to eat and she couldn't let this thief make off with her crates. It would be a good few days before another truck with food supplies came by and Lilac couldn't last that long without food. She had to get the crates back now. Lilac noticed that a trail of flattened grass had been left. The crates had obviously been dragged away from the campsite. It confirmed that some natural predator had made off with the crates. If it had been a person, the crates would have been picked up and carried, not dragged across the grass. That gave Lilac something to follow. Her food would be found very shortly.

"Alright wise guy…prepare to find out what happens to those who steal a dragon's food supply." the dragon growled.

Lilac proceeded to run off after the thief, following the trail left behind in the grass. Whoever or whatever had stolen her food supply, she would make them pay for it dearly. Nobody ever stole from her and got away with it…

* * *

Mayor Zao was not in a very good mood this morning. The short-heighted, egotistical red panda looked as if he was ready to punch somebody if they so much as spoke to him. Today was the day he had been dreading for a long time now. Today was Election Day. He always knew that this day would come eventually. A mayor's time on the throne is never ever-lasting after all. Today, the people of Shang Mu would either see him re-elected or replaced by any of the other volunteers who signed up for the election. Zao hadn't had much competition. Only four people had signed up for the elections and one of them had been Timothy Turtle. Due to the fact that he had been warning people about how "evil" Lilac was, he was bound to gain a lot of public support and his fears had been confirmed as the week passed by. Timothy had gained a lot of support through speeches and the fact that he had given the world a message that it needed to hear. Zao was certain that the old turtle with the abnormally large eyebrows had won the elections. He himself had barely gained any support. He had tried his hardest but it seemed that his own people weren't too bothered about him this time. The red panda sighed as he roamed through his palace and admired it as if he would never live in it again. The red walls and the huge golden dragons hanging on them were home to him and he wouldn't feel comfortable living anywhere else once he left it behind. Why couldn't mayors keep their positions for life? Why did they need to have elections to choose new mayors? Shuigang and Shang Tu didn't have such rules so why should Shang Mu be any different? The mayor had no idea. Perhaps one of the past mayors had made it a rule. If so then he would have to find out which one so he could curse their name for making him lose his title.

Mayor Zao emerged from inside the palace and saw with dismay that there was a large crowd of people waiting to see him and the other volunteers. Timothy was there of course although strangely, despite signing up for the elections, he didn't look particularly pleased to be here. It was as if he had suddenly come to regret ever signing up and wished he was somewhere else. That confused Mayor Zao but he didn't say anything. Maybe he was just trying to remain neutral to avoid being disappointed should he lose the election. The other three who had signed up, one a panda, one a bear and the third a lizard, stood to attention and waited for the votes to be counted. The guards of Shang Mu Royal Palace had the voting boxes in their hands and they were counting all the slips of paper that each box had been given over the past week. They would announce the winner to the eagerly waiting crowd of people that stood before them. The entire population of Shang Mu was there before them, waiting excitedly to hear if they were going to have a new mayor or be stuck with Zao for another four years. Zao tried to look confident as if he knew he was going to win but his composure didn't flatter him much. He was trembling and fidgeting nervously with his hands. How could he possibly maintain a straight face and a confident image in front of all these people? Especially since they weren't here to admire him? He was amazed his four opponents were composed and ready for what was to come. He supposed that maybe they were more relaxed because they had nothing to lose if they didn't win. They weren't already in power like he was.

The guards finished counting all the votes in the boxes and they held up their hands, ordering the tumultuous crowd to silence for the moment. The people all held their breath as the big moment arrived at last.

"People of Shang Mu!" one guard announced, his voice loud and commanding, the kind of voice that demanded respect and obedience, "You are gathered here today to witness the Shang Mu Elections! We thank all who have voted for our volunteers this past week and now it is time to find out who has won the elections this very day."

The panda looked over at the bear as if suddenly nervous about what was to come. The bear glanced back at him but said nothing. The lizard remained neutral as did Timothy. Zao was a quivering wreck, his body shaking so much that he almost looked as if he was being electrocuted. The crowd noticed this and wondered if their new mayor would have a braver image than the one they were looking at right now. Zao did somewhat look rather comical up on stage shaking like a leaf. Hardly a good image for a strong leader to rule a proud kingdom. The guard continued.

"We have counted all the votes and now here are the results…" he explained, "We have 50 votes for Boris the Bear."

The bear sighed loudly, clearly disappointed with his results.

"We have 67 votes for Perry the Panda."

The panda looked disappointed, clearly expecting to have received more votes than that.

"We have 80 votes for Mayor Zao."

Zao sighed loudly in defeat. It was just as he'd suspected. He hadn't even hit the triple digits this time! No wonder he was going to be replaced! The people of Shang Mu clearly weren't interested in him anymore.

"We have 120 votes for Sid the Lizard."

Sid smiled, clearly thinking that he had the winning total of votes. 120 was a large number to receive but a number that could still easily be beaten.

"And our winner we 225 votes…is Timothy James Junipero Hamilton Franklin Turtle!" the guard announced excitedly, "Ladies and gentleman, we have a winner! Raise your hands for our new Mayor of Shang Mu!"

The crowd exploded with joy, pleased to have a winner and a mayor that they could actually be happy to have as their ruler. Sid seemed to be taking his defeat very, very badly though, throwing himself onto his knees and thumping the stage in a fit of rage. He looked like a child who's throwing a tantrum because his favourite toy had been confiscated. Boris and Perry looked at him pityingly, pleased that they weren't making a total fool out of themselves just for losing in front of a crowd of people. Zao was tempted to whine along with Sid but he decided to give the public his last good image by remaining calm about the whole thing. He decided he would swallow his pride and accept his defeat. Timothy waddled over to Zao, his cane tapping rhythmically on the stage. Zao walked up to Timothy and bowed before the winning reptile. Strangely, the turtle didn't seem awfully thrilled that he had won the elections. That struck Zao as very odd indeed. Surely Timothy would be really happy about all of this? The red panda began to feel suspicious. Was there something going on with the old Avalician? He ignored it for the time being as he and Timothy rose back up.

"Congratulations on your victory today Mr. Turtle." Zao said, forcing a smile onto his face, "I'm sad that I'm no longer going to be Mayor of Shang Mu but nevertheless, my time is up and your time begins. I hope you enjoy yourself on the throne my friend."

"Thank you very much Zao." Timothy responded, "But…I'm afraid that I cannot take the throne of Shang Mu."

The crowd gasped in disbelief at what their new mayor had just said. Had they heard him wrong or had he just said he couldn't take the throne? Zao raised an eyebrow in disbelief. This was getting weirder and weirder by the second. What was the old turtle playing at?

"I'm sorry…?" Zao murmured, "Wh-what did you say?"

"I said I cannot take the throne of Shang Mu." Timothy replied, looking a little annoyed at the red panda.

"And why exactly is that?" the former mayor asked.

"Because I want somebody else on the throne." the turtle responded, "As Mayor of Shang Mu, I relinquish my title to somebody who truly deserves it…"

He held his hand out aside as right on cue, somebody emerged from inside the palace. Zao and the other volunteers for the election all turned to face the front door of the palace, wondering what was going to come out. They could hear footsteps and the rhythmic tapping of a walking stick, this one sounding very metallic as it rapped on the floor of the palace. How could there be somebody inside the palace? The palace should be empty! All the guards were outside managing the crowd and Mayor Zao himself was outside too. Had somebody sneaked into the palace after he'd left? It didn't matter for the people of Shang Mu were about to see who it was that was coming out to greet them. Mayor Zao fixed his eyes on the figure as it stepped out into the sunlight, revealing itself in front of the whole crowd. It was a red-scaled dragon with four yellow horns, yellow eyes and a tendril with two tips at the end. He was dressed in a vest top, a vest coat, a belt, trousers and boots. He had flame tattoos on his arms and a cane in his hand. He had a ring on his left index finger. The crowd stared in disbelief at the dragon that had emerged from nowhere and stood on stage before them with a triumphant smirk on his face. Zao looked as if he was going to faint in shock. The guards all jaw-dropped at what they were looking at. Timothy didn't look too pleased at what he had just done and brought upon the people of Shang Mu. He kept himself neutral as the crowd took in what was happening.

"MEMPHIS?!" Zao exclaimed frantically.

"I'm surprised you recognize me Mayor Zao. Or should I just call you "Zao" now?" Memphis crooned wickedly, "It's been a while since I've set foot in this kingdom...and now I'm going to be ruling it thanks to my good friend Timothy."

"But...But...But Timothy hates dragons!" Zao protested, "Why the heck would he want you on the throne?! Especially since you're the biggest criminal in all of Avalice?!"

"Oh Timothy played you all for saps I'm afraid." the dragon gloated, pointing his cane at the red panda and then addressing the crowd, "He lied. He actually LOVES dragons. He wanted a dragon on the throne of at least one of Avalice's kingdoms. So I came to him and made a deal. I promised him a dragon on the throne if he helped me get what I want."

"I agreed...though I sincerely regret it since Memphis is such a demon..." Timothy muttered, "I'm so sorry everybody...I wouldn't have agreed to this if I'd known Memphis was such a scoundrel."

"You better be sorry Mr. Turtle!" the ex-mayor ranted, "You snatched away my title and given it to this disgusting criminal who's crimes involve theft and murder and even political manipulation! And you tricked us all into thinking you hated dragons just so that we'd have a reason to distrust Lilac and root for you!"

Zao then suddenly paused as something went click inside his brain. All the pieces of the puzzle had finally come together and he knew exactly what had happened.

"You ingrates...Lilac was innocent after all!" he declared, "You both framed her! You must have turned her evil somehow to make us hate her and get her exiled so she's out of the way! You tricked us all! You made us exile our greatest hero!"

"Oh fantastic, the shrimp-sized egomaniac has worked it out. That's shocking." Memphis muttered in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "Yes, me and Timothy were the ones who got Lilac exiled. Timothy pretended to hate dragons so that people would distrust her and become uneasy and I had him take photographs of her and Natalya together so you'd think there was something sinister abound. And then I pumped her full of the Dark Stone's Energy, turning her evil and forcing you and the other leaders to have no choice but to exile her for the good of your images and your people. You've all been played like puppets on strings...and I've been the puppeteer pulling them. And since Lilac is in exile, she'll never ever hear about all of this. She can't stop me and I'll be ruler of Avalice. That's what I call the perfect plan."

The crowd all gasped in horror at what they had heard. What had they done? They had distrusted Lilac and believed the rumours and ravings that had been spread around. How could they have been so stupid?! They should have known that Lilac would never have taken over Shang Tu! They should have known Lilac was innocent! But they had been fooled, played for suckers and all because of one very dangerous and very intelligent man. Zao was so angered to hear this that he actually ran forward and tried to attack Memphis. This was unheard of. Zao often cowered behind his forces whenever there was a threat to deal with. But now he was actually throwing himself at the criminal dragon and ready to beat him to death. Memphis however had anticipated the move and he had raised up his cane, the round top section with the Dark Stone Energy glowing malevolently and forcing Zao to stop in his tracks. He could see the energy swirling around in the top of Memphis's cane. If there was energy inside then it had to be an energy conductor. That explained how he sprayed Lilac with the Dark Stone's Energy.

"Nah, ah, ah Zao. You dare assault your new mayor of Shang Mu and your entire kingdom gets corrupted by the Dark Stone's Energy." Memphis threatened, a gloating smirk on his face, "I sincerely doubt you'd be happy with your kingdom being overrun by destruction craving dragons. The negative emotions plaguing the crowd right now will make them extremely vulnerable. So don't do anything stupid. I'd rather have a kingdom to rule if you don't mind."

"You won't get away with this you scoundrel!" Zao swore, "You're going in jail for this! You already have to pay for the crimes you committed before and now you're gonna pay for possession of an illegal invention and manipulating us into exiling the Heroine of Avalice!"

"Don't bore me with your lectures you irritating little midget." Memphis said coldly, "I'm tempted to spray you full of energy right now and I'm sure you don't want to know what you look like as a dragon."

Zao growled viciously but didn't dare make a move. He couldn't, not with Memphis threatening to turn his kingdom into a wasteland that would be caused by his own people and maybe himself turning into dragons. Sighing, he relaxed his composure and looked down at the floor.

"You win...just know that you're not gonna win Memphis..." he muttered.

"Oh my dear ex-mayor...I already have." Memphis crowed.

He then proceeded to raised his energy conductor above his head swing it through the air like a sword. Zao saw the bottom end of the cane coming towards him as it crashed into the side of his head and threw him onto the stage. The red panda passed out instantly from the crippling blow. The crowd gasped in horror at what had happened. The moment Zao passed out, the red dragon pointed at the guards.

"Take him away. Lock him up." he barked, "You work for me now as I'm the Mayor of Shang Mu so you better not refuse to obey me."

The guards nodded, angered that they had to serve a criminal like Memphis now. This was Shang Mu's darkest hour. Subjugated by a villainous fiend who hadn't been seen in six years and unable to do anything about it. Two guards picked up Zao's unconscious body and took him away. The moment the short-heighted panda had been taken away, Memphis turned to face the crowd that peered at him nervously. They didn't know what to do other than shudder in fear at their new mayor.

"Alright you disgusting low-lives, listen up!" he snapped, "As the new Mayor of Shang Mu, there will be some changes around here and some very strict rules. All the people of the kingdom have to serve me faithfully and willingly. Any attempts to defy me will be met with instant death. You are not to rebel against me or try to attack me. If you do, you will be executed. Execution will now be a method of punishment again and I'm sure you'd all rather keep your heads. And also I'd like to remind you that I have the Dark Stone's Energy in my parlour. If you dare try anything foolish, I might use it on you and have you attack your friends and loved ones. I demand loyalty and respect. If you apply to my very basic needs, you will be allowed to live your lives in peace. Do NOT give me a reason to have to execute you all one by one. That is a warning and my ONLY warning. Understand?"

The terrified people all nodded understandingly. They wouldn't dare stand up against Memphis after threats like that. They would serve him, although they wouldn't like it at all. Smiling, the dragon continued.

"I also have demands to make...demands that Shang Tu and Shuigang must abide to..." he purred, "If there is a messenger around, tell them to give to The Magister and King Dail this message..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Carol the Wildcat sat down on the sofa to join her friends as they prepared to see the news for this morning. The tomboy feline was feeling a lot more chirpy this morning and it showed in her face. She looked a little less run down and her eyes were more awake and brighter than they had been all week. She'd even managed to eat a full breakfast of pancakes and syrup, not leaving so much as a crumb behind. That of course, had pleased Miguel and Lela. Last night, Milla had told Carol what Natalya was planning for tomorrow and that had made the wildcat feel much happier. She had even declared that with the five of them working together, Lilac was as good as proven innocent and would be back home before anybody could say "Shuigang". Because of the plan, Carol had slept well for the first time in a week, hence her more refreshed looking appearance and brighter attitude. This had brought smiles to Natalya, Miguel and Lela's faces. The fact that the tomboy feline was more like her old self was enough for them to feel good about themselves. Now the dragon, hounds and wildcat were gathered together on the sofa and switching the television on. They needed to know if the elections had ended yet and now it was ten o'clock in the morning, they had to be over now and they'd be hearing the news about it. The TV flashed into life and Carol switched it to the news channel, not something she would have done any other time. She considered news a waste of time as people didn't really need to know what was going on in the world unless it was about themselves.

"Alright, let's see if Shang Mu's elections are over so we can get investigating!" the wildcat exclaimed eagerly.

"I wonder who the new mayor will be after today? Or if Mayor Zao will keep his title..." Natalya murmured, clearly not interested in the fact at hand.

"Given how Zao dared to think Lilac used the Dark Stone on purpose three weeks ago, I hope he doesn't keep his throne." Carol growled angrily, "He deserves to lose his position for his stupidity!"

"Now, now Carol, let's not be nasty about it." said Lela sternly, "It won't matter once we prove that Lilac's innocent in the long run."

"True but I'd LOVE to see Mayor Egotist's face when he realizes what an idiot he's been." Carol snickered.

"The news is starting, everybody quiet!" Milla piped.

The news was indeed beginning to start. Its familiar jingle rang out of the speakers on the television and the screen flashed with the Avalice World News logo. The logo itself was an image of Avalice from up in space with the three words written in front of it as if trying to hide as much of the world behind them as possible. The five Avalicians watched closely as the news logo faded and the presenter appeared in its place. He was dressed smartly as usual in a blue suit and tie and his face was blank as if he didn't have anything interesting to say today. It was the same face he wore every news broadcast. Carol and Milla both glared at him. Did newsreaders ever look interested in what they had to say? The blank-faced presenter spoke.

"Hello and good morning people of Avalice." he said, his voice as boring as his appearance was, "Although not many of us will be thinking that after the latest news that has reached our studio."

He picked up a sheaf of papers and glanced at them. The five watchers became more intrigued. This was bad news they were going to hear, they knew it straight away. But what would it be about?

"As many of you know, today is Election Day for the people of Shang Mu and the elections have just concluded." the presenter murmured, "A man named Timothy James Junipero Hamilton Franklin Turtle was the overall winner of the elections with 225 votes but his first act as mayor was to relinquish his title to the biggest criminal in all of Avalice. Surprisingly enough, he actually doesn't hate dragons and has given his title to one because he wanted one on the throne. Thought to be dead after six years of absence, Memphis the Dragon has made himself public again and is now the new mayor of Shang Mu. The dragon is a criminal notorious for orchestrating the biggest heists in the history of all three kingdoms and the murders of several powerful people and innocent bystanders. It's truly a dark day as the biggest criminal in the world is now on the throne of Shang Mu."

Natalya let out a gasp that made everybody's heads turn in her direction. The dragon had gone very pale in the face and she looked for a moment as if her heart had stopped. Never in Carol's life had she seen her former boss and former enemy look so horrified in all her life. The wildcat knew that if Natalya of all people was horrified then this couldn't be good news at all. She remembered how Lilac had told her and Milla Natalya's life story and she recalled her best friend mentioning Memphis. He had killed her parents and had sent Natalya on the dark road to villainy because of it. Carol now understood why Natalya was so shocked. Her best friend's killer had come back to haunt her once again. It must feel like seeing a ghost from her dark and tragic past coming back to torment her for all time's sake. Milla was as horrified as Natalya was.

"Memphis?!" she cried out, "He's Lilac's mean and nasty uncle who murdered her parents and upset Natalya!"

"That's right..." Carol murmured, "Lilac is SOOOOOOOO gonna flip if she ever hears about this..."

Natalya remained silent and very still, trying to get her bearings back as the news story continued on the television.

"Memphis has also revealed to the people of Shang Mu that the recently exiled Sash Lilac was actually innocent and that he manipulated the kingdoms into thinking she was bad so they would get rid of her and prevent her from getting in his way." the newsreader announced, his face looking almost sad as if disturbed by what he'd read, "He's also made some very, very big demands to Shang Tu and Shuigang. He has ordered them to merge with Shang Mu and make our three kingdoms one big kingdom for him to rule. He has stated that this is not a hollow threat and that if they dare to refuse, he will unleash Shang Mu's Sky Battalion and wipe both kingdoms off the map. He has also warned Shang Tu and Shuigang NOT to try that themselves or he will blow them to smithereens. We await to see what the response from the two kingdoms will be. But I can say this now...Lilac the Dragon Girl...we need you back. We hope you'll come home and save us from this nightmare..."

The newsreader began to tremble as if he was about to cry. He was clearly shaken by what was going to happen today. It was the first news report that Carol and Milla had ever watched where he showed an emotion on screen. Unable to watch anymore, Carol got up and switched the television off. Her face was as dark as a thundercloud.

"I KNEW IT!" she screamed, "I f***king knew that somebody was framing Lilac the whole time, I just knew it! And now because of the stupidity of our people, Lilac's evil uncle is on the throne and she can't stop him because she's alone in the middle of nowhere with no chance of hearing about this!"

"It's disgusting!" Miguel cried out, screwing his face up, "How could that horrible, horrible man do this to his own niece?! Has he no shame?!"

"Bad Memphis! He's a very, very bad man!" Milla wailed, "Poor Lilac! Kicked out of our lives because of him! How horrible!"

"I swear if I ever see that Memphis in person, I am going to break every tooth in his mouth!" Lela growled, "That's so beastly of him to trick our kingdoms into doing this to his own flesh and blood! I cannot believe this!"

"We should have known it was him..." Carol moaned, "It should have been dead obvious that it was him! Who else would carry out such a horrible crime against Lilac like this?! Man I feel like such an idiot...how did I not guess it was Memphis all along?!"

"We couldn't have known dearie..." Lela said softly, "We do not know Memphis so how could we have guessed? Just like how we couldn't have guessed that Timothy was pretending to hate dragons the whole time and was working with him..."

"I wonder if Timothy was forced into it?" Miguel murmured, "Or is he doing this willingly? Either way, he has a LOT to answer for, letting that wicked man rule over Shang Mu and make those wicked demands! I bet Lilac will never forgive him for this..."

"She won't." Milla agreed, "What do you think Natalya?"

The mauve-skinned dragon had remained very still and totally silent throughout the whole conversation. She was still in shock over what had happened and what she had heard. Her ex-boyfriend had been the one responsible for getting her adopted daughter exiled and was now trying what she had once tried, only much more extreme! How upset would Dawn be if she could see this now? Natalya had hoped she'd heard the end of Memphis after he'd gone quiet for six whole years. Just her luck that she was wrong. Natalya then suddenly sprang back into life. She leapt up from her seat, startling Milla and she marched over to the television. She was in blind rage and had no idea what she was doing. Her face contorted with anger and her eyes looked redder than they usually were. She kicked the metal box as hard as possible as if blaming it for everything that had happened a week ago. Her foot smashed the screen to pieces and knocked the TV over onto its back. Carol and the Basset family all gasped in alarm and gathered close together as the dragon let out a blood-curdling scream of fury that made them shudder.

"THAT BASTARD! THAT EVIL, LOW-LIFE, MANIPULATIVE, DIRTY, HEARTLESS SCOUNDREL!" Natalya ranted, "I'M GONNA KILL HIM FOR THIS! I SWEAR ON THE BLOOD OF DAWN, STEPHEN AND LILAC THAT I'LL KILL HIM! HE IS GOING TO BE BEGGING FOR MERCY WHEN I'VE FINISHED WITH THAT BASTARD!"

She then panted heavily and allowed her arms to slump by her sides as she caught her breath. The four Avalicians all understood Natalya's fury. Memphis had been her boyfriend and he had killed her best friend and her best friend's husband, two very dear friends of hers. It was because of him that she'd turned evil after losing her mind with grief and because of Memphis, her own adopted daughter had been sentenced to life in exile. She had every right to be angry. Milla slowly approached Natalya as if afraid she was going to explode again. The dragon however turned to see her and looked more upset than angry now. She had simmered down after releasing her anger and Milla knew she didn't have to be afraid anymore.

"Are...are you alright?" she asked nervously.

"I am now...I'm sorry if I frightened you little Milla." Natalya said gently, "Same goes to Carol and your parents. I...I'm just so angry that my ex-boyfriend has come back to torment me again...I lost my temper...I should know better. I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it Natalya." Carol said casually, "You have every right to be angry! I'm angry too! Lilac's uncle is taking over our kingdoms and because he's exiled Lilac, she can't stop him! At least now, we don't need to prove she's innocent because he's just announced that to us."

"Still though, we need to stop Memphis before his demands can be met!" Natalya declared, "If he has all three kingdoms merged together and rules over them all, he'll have power beyond belief! He'll have eyes and ears everywhere and we'll never be able to stop him! He has to be taken out today...or Avalice will be in a dark hour it'll never see the end of..."

"So since you know about Memphis, can you tell us about him?" asked Carol.

"He's a nasty piece of work..." the dragon muttered, "He's arrogant to a fault and despite being very charismatic, he is no gentleman. He's ruthless, wicked and above all, a man who leaves nothing to chance. He rarely if ever makes mistakes and intelligent beyond belief. He has the mind of a champion chess player and can somehow manipulate even the smallest of events to his advantage. I'm willing to bet it was his idea for Timothy to use you and Milla picking on him as an excuse to hate on Lilac some more..."

"Is Memphis strong?" asked Milla.

"More than that. He is the reason I know martial arts." Natalya explained, "He taught me everything I know so you can thank him for the bruises I've given you in the past. He is no slouch in a fight so you better be careful if he does want to throw a punch at you."

"We'll make sure that never happens." Miguel declared, "So, what's the plan now?"

"We sneak into Shang Mu...and take Memphis out..." the former villainess announced, "Memphis's reign of terror will end before it can begin..."

Her eyes narrowed as she pictured her loathsome enemy buried underneath tonnes of dirt with a gravestone marking where he lies. She even imagined herself desecrating his grave just to spite him. A beautiful image and with any luck...it would come true...

* * *

Back in the Forest of Shards, Lilac was still hot on the trail of the person or thing that had stolen her food supply. She'd been following the trail for quite a while now and she could feel herself getting tired even though she could go on for much longer before needing a rest. Her empty stomach growled in protest, begging for her to fill it up. She needed breakfast and she needed it now before she became too weak to run anymore. Lilac had feeling that she wasn't too far away from her thieves. The trail was beginning to get flatter and flatter as she went along as if the grass had just seconds ago been flattened down by the dragging crates. She had to be close. Lilac came near a bush and noticed that there was a hole in it as if whatever had stolen her crates had just dragged it through the bush. There were leaves scattered everywhere. Lilac knelt down behind the bush and listened out. She could hear soft growling noises on the other side. The growls sent shivers up her spine. She could also hear the sound of claws scraping against metal as if the thing was trying to pry open the crates. It wasn't an Avalician, it was something much deadlier. The dragon sighed.

"Oh just my luck to have my food pinched by a wild animal..." she muttered, "Oh well, this dragon isn't gonna let them steal my food!"

Lilac sprang up onto her feet and leapt over the bush. She now saw what she was up against. The thing that had stolen her crates wasn't just one thing, there were two of them. They had a crate each and had been batting at them with their claws to try and open them and get to the food inside. The two creatures resembled a sabre-toothed cat complete with four legs and hug, long, curved incisors that looked more like daggers than teeth. But they didn't have fur like the famous prehistoric animal did. They had scales and had four ears on their heads. They also had two tails. The creatures were one of Avalice's top predators in the wild. They were known as Sumirodons. Sumirodons were not creatures to be taken lightly at all. They had powerful muscles in every inch of their bodies and were extremely fast. Only a dragon could ever outrun them in a race. Sumirodons were also very territorial. They did not like having visitors and when they had food in their parlour, they didn't like to share at all. They growled menacingly at Lilac, their huge teeth glinting in the sunlight. The dragon showed no signs of fear as they advanced on her. Sumirodons were child's play compared to what she had been through in her life. Nothing to worry about.

"Hey! You two! That food doesn't belong to you!" Lilac snarled, "It's mine and if you don't back off right now, I'm gonna show you what happens when you piss off a dragon like me!"

The Sumirodons ignored her threats and advanced towards her, growling softly. Lilac just adopted a battle ready stance and prepared to fight.

"Don't say I didn't warn you two..." she growled.

She then reacted before the Sumirodons could even think about pouncing...

* * *

 _ **Well this isn't good. Memphis is in power and has made some pretty horrific demands! Can Natalya and the crew stop him? And will Lilac get her food back from the wild animals that have pinched it? Heck, will Lilac even find out what's happening back home? All this and more next time...**_


	3. Chapter 3: The Old Sage

_Chapter 3: The Old Sage_

The two Sumirodons leapt back in surprise as Lilac lunged at them. The two wildlife predators were used to their prey striking back, but not quite like this. Skulking about in the wild day after day, they had never before in their lives encountered a dragon, especially one that moved so fast like this one was doing now. They had only just had time to dodge as Lilac hurled at them, leaping away from the two steel crates full of food that they had found in the forest earlier. The crates were Lilac's food supply that she had stolen from a truck heading to Shang Mu yesterday and she was not interested in sharing it with them. They were her crates and she wanted them back now.

Lilac skidded across the grass as she hurled past the two Sumirodons. They were a little faster than she had expected but the dragon was still convinced that she could take them out. One of the Sumirodons crept towards Lilac, its teeth bared and its eyes full of rage and death. The dragon shuddered a little. She had never seen anything that looked so evil since Lord Brevon. Even his eyes looked friendly compared to the evil black slits that were the eyes of her feline, four eared opponent. The Sumirodon was getting ready to pounce but Lilac reacted first. She curled up into a ball and Dragon-Boosted straight at the wild animal, leaving a train of sparkles behind her as she rocketed towards it. The Sumirodon's eyes widened in surprise. Before it knew what was happening, Lilac slammed straight into the savage beast and sent it flying backwards through the air and into the bush that she had hidden behind a moment ago. The other Sumirodon had watched this with total disbelief as its partner landed in the bush and let out a whine of pain. Lilac flipped the strand of hair that hung over her right eye aside casually, supremely confident that she had this in the bag.

"Now you know what happens when you mess with a dragon!" Lilac crowed, "You mess with a dragon, you feel its wrath! Let this be a lesson to you."

The second Sumirodon ran over to its partner, clearly concerned for its well-being. The first Sumirodon was lying on its back in the bush, looking as if it was too weak to get back up. It was barely moving and the other predator sniffed at it, wondering if its mate was still alive. Lilac watched this tender scene and began to feel guilty about what she'd done. Had she brutally injured the Sumirodon? Had she even killed it? She wouldn't forgive herself if she had done. This was an innocent, wild animal. She couldn't go around slaughtering animals just for pinching her food supply! Lilac was many things, but a killer was not one of them. The death of Lord Brevon was the execption as in her eyes, he had to die for the good of Avalice. Still, if the Sumirodon was dead then Lilac would be disgusted with herself. Killing wild animals would barely help fix her damaged reputation. What would the kingdoms of Avalice think if they heard about this. But the dragon soon had nothing of the sort to worry about for the first Sumirodon twitched and then stood up, looking a little unsteady but otherwise, very much alive and still ready for a fight. Its mate purred with delight and then both scaly animals turned their evil gaze onto Lilac. The dragon was pleased that she hadn't killed the Sumirodon but she now began to fear for her own life. Would the two attack together? Would they be too strong for her? Lilac didn't care. She had to fight them off or be killed, simple as that. The first Sumirodon charged at Lilac, bellowing loudly as it ran towards her. Its mate followed her, its dagger like teeth bared and ready to stab down into the dragon's body and rip her to pieces. Lilac allowed them to come close to her, knowing that they wouldn't be smart enough to anticipate her next move. The dragon spun around on her tip-toes, performing her ever famous and very handy Dragon-Cyclone attack. The Sumirodons were foolish to get close to Lilac as her whippy tendrils scythed through the air around her. They leapt towards Lilac and were both singlehandedly whacked away by the cyclone. The Sumirodons yelped as they hit the ground, unable to believe what had just happened. Lilac stopped spinning and smiled confidently at them both.

"You guys have no chance." She sneered, "I defeated Lord Brevon himself, twice in fact! You're just a walk in the park you pathetic little pussycats!"

The Sumirodons seemed to take offence to this although as far as Lilac was concerned, they were just angry to have been smacked down by her. The second one got up first and came scampering towards its prey, its four feet moving quickly and carrying it swiftly across the grass. Sumirodons were fast runners and Lilac only just had time to react as it pounced on her and knocked her down onto her back. The savage creature's scaly face curled into a snarl as its mouth opened wide and it tried to bite down on Lilac's face. The dragon grabbed the creature by the neck and held it firmly away, its teeth just inches in front of her face. She could feel its hot breath on her as it tried to bite her. Her heart began to pound in terror. She was literally staring death directly in the face and if she didn't push the Sumirodon off of herself in time, its mate would be able to bite her and finish her off while she was tied up with this one. Curse the three kingdoms for causing this to happen to her! If she was back home in Dragon Valley now, this wouldn't be happening! Sumirodons didn't live in Dragon Valley after all. If she ever came back to the kingdoms, she would make sure to let them now that she'd gotten tangled up with Sumirodons and narrowly escaped death from them. That would make them regret their decision to exile her. Lilac pushed with all her strength, forcing the Sumirodon's head backwards and allowing her upper body to bend upwards so she was almost sitting.

"Nice try gruesome, but dinner's cancelled for you!" she declared.

She then let go of the Sumirodon's neck with one hand just as its mate began to close in on her. She socked the Sumirodon directly in the face, hitting it in the eyes and then hitting it again in the nose. They were sensitive areas and it was common knowledge to strike a Sumirodon in those areas should one attack you. The scaly sabre-tooth cat-like animal let out a roaring howl of pain as Lilac punched it and it backed away, allowing her to get back onto her feet just as the first one lunged towards her. Lilac reacted just in time and spun around on her heel, sweeping the air with her foot and slamming it into the tough hide of the Sumirodon. The creature cried out as it was hit and thrown down onto its side. Lilac panted and prepared for another attack as her two animal opponents picked themselves up and crept towards her. She felt bad having to do this to them. They were just animals trying to survive like she was. It was cruel of her to be attacking them for doing what they had to. But she needed the food more than they did. It was her food and they had no right to steal it from her. She would fight them off and then have her breakfast. Already she was imagining herself back in her camp and tucking into a delicious breakfast of eggs and bacon, just as she planned. It would be worth fighting them off for such a pleasure.

The two Sumirodons ran towards their draconian prey once again, roaring savagely as their teeth glinted in the morning sunlight. Lilac breathed out, looking totally relaxed as she made her next move. She ran towards the Sumirodons and then suddenly sprang into the air like a pogo stick. The teen-Avalician remembered a move Natalya had used on her and her friends last Christmas and she was using it now. She kicked one Sumirodon in the head and using it like a stepping stone, threw herself onto the other Sumirodon's head and kicked it. She spiralled through the air away from the creatures and landed on the ground. The two animals picked themselves up only for Lilac to Dragon-Boost straight into them both. This proved to be a very, very big error for her. Lilac hadn't noticed that she and the Sumirodons had been fighting on a clifftop the whole time. As she hit the two creatures, they hurled through the air and slammed into the crates of food. The impact was so heavy that the crates and the Sumirodons themselves were sent tumbling towards the edge of the cliff. Lilac let out a shriek of alarm as she watched the crates roll towards the edge. She ran forward to catch them but she was much too late. The steel crates tumbled over the cliff edge and came smashing down to the ground below. Lilac peered over the edge as she watched her precious food supply crash down the rocky slope of the cliff and smash into pieces, scattering their components everywhere. The crates were heavily dented and buckled by the time they reached the bottom and all the food inside had spread out everywhere, gathering soil and dirt from the surface and now certainly unfit to eat. Some of the contents such as tinned food and the eggs had smashed open. Lilac stared in total despair at what she had just witnessed. Two whole crates full of food gone to waste thanks to a big mistake and a heavy oversight! What more could go wrong for her?! Lilac's stomach now growled even louder as if crying out for the food it craved for. So much for breakfast!

"Damn it to hell!" Lilac cursed, "My food's all gone now! Oh just my rotten luck for it to be stolen by wild animals! Next time, I'm taking my food with me when I bathe in the lake so I can keep a good eye on it! I won't lose it then!"

She then suddenly had something else to worry about as a blood curdling snarl rang out from behind her. Lilac's blood ran cold as she realized that the Sumirodons hadn't gone over the cliff themselves. They had managed to save themselves from falling and now they were ready to feast on her to compensate for the loss of the two crates. The dragon turned around and saw the two monstrous beasts bending down low on their front legs, preparing to jump at her. It would be just as easy for her to Dragon-Boost out of the way and leave them to accidentally throw themselves off the cliff. But Lilac did not want the Sumirodons to kill themselves. They didn't deserve to die just for causing her to lose her food supply. So before they could pounce, Lilac Dragon-Boosted straight past them and ran back into the forest, leaving the bewildered creatures to stare in disbelief as if they were surprised at what had happened. They weren't stunned for long though. They both ran off after Lilac, determined not to let her get away. They were both starving, hence why they had stolen Lilac's food supply in the first place, and they didn't want to lose their second option of breakfast. The two creatures ran off, their legs moving quickly as they sprinted after their prey. But they had no chance of ever catching Lilac. The dragon was much, much faster than they were. It would take them a miracle to catch her now. Lilac looked over her should and smiled to herself as she saw how far away her pursuers were. She knew that Sumirodons were fast but not fast enough to catch her. Lilac continued running until she found a bush to hide behind. She didn't want to lead the two animals back to her camp or they'd know where to find her so she threw herself behind the bush and held her breath as the Sumirodons closed in. They hadn't seen Lilac jump behind the bush for they had been too far away to see her clearly so they ran straight past the bush like a charging rhino that's missed its target. Lilac waited until they had both gone away before stepping out of the bush and brushing leaves off of herself. She waited until she caught her breath back before walking off. The danger was over and she was safe again. But she was still starving and her stomach growled, pleading for her to feed it. Lilac rubbed her tummy sadly.

"I know, I know, you want food." she muttered, "But thanks to those stupid Sumirodons, I've lost my food supply! Where am I gonna get more food now? I doubt a delivery truck heading for any of the three kingdoms will be coming through here for a while now."

The dragon's face fell as she imagined herself going for days without anything to eat. She'd be a skeleton by the time a fresh supply of food came for her. The delivery trucks didn't come by regularly after all. Lilac sighed despairingly as she ventured off further into the forest, not heading back towards her camp as there was no point.

"Well, I guess I'll have to explore more of this place and see if I can find food anywhere else." Lilac declared, "I'm sure there's food to find elsewhere. Maybe outside of the Forest of Shards. With any luck, I might find some kind of civilization and the people who live there will give me some food. I just hope I won't end up starving to death…"

Lilac rubbed her empty stomach fearfully as she pictured herself wasting away into nothing. This wouldn't be a problem for her if the three kingdoms hadn't been so stupid and believed that she willingly committed the crimes the Dark Stone's energy had made her commit! Would The Magister, Mayor Zao and King Dail be happy to hear that because of their idiocy, Avalice's greatest hero had been reduced to a bag of bones? Hopefully they wouldn't be and they would regret what they had done. It wouldn't make any difference whatsoever though, she'd still be dead. It made Lilac angry just thinking about the three leaders now.

"I save all of Avalice from Lord Brevon twice and save Christmas…and this is how I'm repaid…" she moaned, "Scavenging for food in the wilderness. What a way for me to go. Avalice's biggest heroine…soon to die as Avalice's biggest loser! I hope those three idiots and their stupid kingdoms are sorry they've gotten rid of me!"

With nothing else to do except search for food, Lilac skulked off. She hoped that she would find something soon. Dragons could live a long time without food so she had more than enough time to find something to eat. But Lilac knew that dragons couldn't go on forever without food. They would eventually get too weak to even stand up if they weren't well-fed. She had to find food soon. And Lilac was sure that she would find something in the end. The forest couldn't possibly have nothing to eat after all…

* * *

The Royal Magister of Shang Tu was once again sitting on his decadent throne and playing over the events of last week in his mind. His throne had long since been repaired after the damage it had sustained during the fight between a Dark Stone possessed Lilac and Natalya but in The Magister's eyes, the damage done to his throne was minuscule compare to the damage done to himself. Ever since he had exiled Lilac, he had been sheltered and more closed off as if he didn't want to see anybody anymore. He was still deeply regretful for having to do this to the poor girl. Lilac was a heroine! She didn't deserve to be exiled, especially since she'd done so much good for the world, more good than anybody could ever have hoped to do! But due to the people of Avalice being convinced that Lilac was evil and accusing him of orchestrating some kind of conspiracy, he had had no choice but to exile her. He was still glad that King Dail of Shuigang had refused to vote on how to punish the dragon so that he didn't have to live with the decision he made like he was doing now. It still gnawed away at his mind every time he thought about it. As far as he was concerned, he would never be able to get it out of his mind. He hoped that Lilac was OK out in the wilds. A whole week had passed and he was still worried about her. What really annoyed him was that his guards, General Gong and Neera Li had searched far and wide for proof that Lilac was innocent and they still hadn't found anything to prove that the dragon wasn't evil. Whoever had done this to Lilac, they had sure covered their tracks well. He hoped that they would eventually find what they were looking for.

The Magister got up from his throne and stared out of the balcony, admiring his beautiful city once again. It was because of Lilac that he was still able to see a view like this. It was also because of Lilac that the world had lived long enough for his city to be repaired from the damages that Natalya had done to it three weeks ago. He couldn't enjoy the view of his city without thinking about Lilac now. The dragon should be allowed to roam through the city like everybody else. She shouldn't be forbidden from ever entering. The mysterious royal sighed loudly.

"What have I done..." he muttered, "The dragon blood shouldn't be in exile. She should be in civilization like us...I hope that she'll be able to return to us..."

He was then suddenly interrupted from his train of thoughts by a knock on his door. He wondered if it was General Gong or Neera Li or even both of them here with good news for him. Maybe news that they'd found evidence that proves Lilac is innocent and thus, would give him the perfect excuse to overturn her exile and bring her back into civilization. The Magister allowed his visitor to enter. The door opened up and both Gong and Neera walked in. Unfortunately, any hopes of good news were dashed apart as The Magister saw their grim faces. They looked as if they were about to deliver a very cryptic message. And in a way, they were. The two pandas walked up to their leader and bowed before him.

"Greetings your excellency." Gong said in his usual grizzly voice.

"We hope you're having a good morning sir." Neera said politely.

"You two look as if you're not having a good morning though." the blue-robed royal said stoically, "Is there something wrong?"

"You have NO idea..." the priestess panda sighed, "Memphis has turned out to be alive and he's taken over Shang Mu."

"WHAT?!" The Magister cried out in surprise, "But...he's been silent for six years! That surely had to mean he was dead!"

"Evidently not..." the general muttered, "He's alive alright and he's become the Mayor of Shang Mu. Apparently, Timothy was working for him the whole time and won the elections just so he could give the position of mayor over to him! Memphis has also revealed to Shang Mu that it was HIM who was responsible for Lilac's reputation being ruined to the point we had to exile her!"

"So we no longer need proof that she's innocent. Memphis has pretty much confessed." Neera said, "That means we can overturn Lilac's exile. Unfortunately, we do not have time to find her and get her back."

"And why is that?" the royal Avalician asked.

The two pandas looked even more grave as they were about to deliver their next bit of cryptic news.

"Memphis has made a demand. A BIG demand..." Neera mused, "Shang Tu and Shuigang are to fuse kingdoms with Shang Mu and become one big kingdom for him to rule. We have to swear allegiance to him. If we don't...he'll deploy Shang Tu's Sky Battalion and destroy our kingdoms. If we dare try to attack him, even with our own Sky Battalion, he'll use the Sky Battalion to blow us to pieces. He's giving us until tonight to make our choice. By the time we find Lilac and get her to help us...it'll be too late."

The Magister nodded understandingly. They couldn't bother finding Lilac while they had very little time to make Memphis's demand. They couldn't refuse or he would blow them all to pieces. He might even threaten the people of Shang Mu. And what of Mayor Zao? Memphis could easily use him as a hostage and render any attempt to attack him moot with his life on the line. They couldn't try and attack Memphis and they couldn't ignore his demands. But they couldn't just swear fealty to him. He was a criminal and he didn't deserve to rule Avalice! They had to stop him! And The Magister knew exactly what to do about that.

"Well...this is indeed most...most troubling..." the robed royal muttered, "Memphis has manipulated us from behind the scenes into getting rid of Lilac so that she can't get in his way...and now he's made a demand we cannot refuse..."

"We can't just give into him!" Gong protested, "We have to do something about him!"

"I know...which is why I propose this." The Magister announced, "Gong, you go and search for Lilac and tell her what's happened. Tell her also that her exile sentence has been over-turned for we now know she's innocent. Neera, you are to sneak into Shang Mu and infiltrate the kingdom. Freeze Memphis and bring him here so he can be locked up forever. With him frozen, his threat will be over and Lilac will come home to a happy kingdom."

"Yes sir. I won't fail you Magister." Neera swore, "I swear on the Ancient Dragon that blessed our world that I won't fail."

"I know you won't." The Magister said, his voice almost kind and soft as he spoke, "Go Neera. We're counting on you to save our kingdom."

The priestess bowed and left the room to carry out The Magister's plan. Gong bowed before The Magister and left to find Lilac. The general hoped that the dragon wouldn't be too hard to find. Being in exile, she wouldn't be easy to find as she could be anywhere but he was sure he knew where to start looking for Lilac. Most people who were sentenced to exile went to live in the Forest of Shards or any similar territory that was around. He would look there first. The moment the two pandas left to carry out their tasks, The Magister turned around to face the view from outside his balcony once again. He had the terrible image of Mayor Zao's airships flying over the kingdom to bombard it from bombs and missiles for refusing Memphis's demands. With any luck, this wouldn't happen. If only Lilac hadn't been exiled! She could help them deal with this situation right now! Maybe if they were lucky, they'd find Lilac sooner than expected and she would be home in time to give Memphis what for.

"Please be OK Lilac...and I hope you'll come home safely..." The Magister murmured.

The next few minutes were bound to be very tense for the royal as he waited to hear from his two right-hand pandas...

* * *

Lilac had been roaming through the forest for over an hour and she hadn't found anything to eat yet. It was nearly lunch time now and she still hadn't had breakfast! The dragon was beginning to get crankier as every minute she spent without food passed. She'd never been this late eating breakfast before in her life. She always had it at nine o' clock, which was the average time she usually woke up in a morning. This morning, she'd woken up at around half nine and had spent half an hour following the Sumirodons. Now it was eleven o' clock, an hour away from lunch time and she still hadn't eaten. It was something that the dragon never wanted to experience again. As she roamed through the forest, looking for food, she found herself hating The Magister, Mayor Zao and King Dail more and more with every minute that passed. They had caused this to happen to her. It was their fault she was so hungry. If she died of starvation, it would be all their fault for sentencing her like this even though it was clear that she was innocent and had no reason to do this to her.

Lilac had found herself walking out of the mass of trees that had surrounded her on all corners and she was now walking towards a huge wide open area with a round lake and an enormous mountain protruding up from the ground. It looked as if there was a cave in the face of it. The whole area looked extremely beautiful. Lilac was curious. Maybe there was food inside the cave. Probably some animal that lived in there. She didn't like the thought of killing a wild animal but if she wanted to eat, she would need to kill an animal and feed on its flesh. She couldn't have eaten the Sumirodons earlier as they were much too tough for her to penetrate thanks to their tough scales. Plus, she didn't have the right equipment for slitting them open. If there was an animal that lived in the cave, maybe it wouldn't be so tough and she'd have an easier time carving it up so she could eat it. But just as Lilac began heading towards the mountain, she noticed that the clouds were beginning to turn grey. It was going to rain. Lilac groaned. Was the world against her today or something? First she loses her food and now it looked as if it was going to rain! The dragon couldn't help but feel as if the world was trying to make her as miserable as possible. The dragon hurried forward, hoping to find shelter before the rain could start. She failed. There was a clap of thunder and heavy, fat drops of rain began to hammer down onto the ground. It was like somebody had turned on the world's largest shower and had focused it entirely on this area of the forest now. Lilac felt the drops splash down onto her body. They were cold and heavy. The dragon wasn't dressed for the rain and her clothes were instantly soaked. They clung to her like sodden rags and because of how casually she was dressed, the soaking rain made her feel cold. Her bare arms, shoulders, chest and legs crawled as the rain sent cold spasms running through them. Lilac hugged herself feebly, hoping to get some warmth into herself. It did no good. She was extremely hungry, soaking wet and freezing cold. What a rotten day this was turning out to be.

Lilac forced herself to head on towards the mountain. Maybe she'd be able to get inside the cave and out of the rain. But the mountain seemed to grow in size as she got closer and closer to it. it was as If it was taunting began to feel tired. She hadn't eaten for hours and she began to feel weak. It didn't help how the cold rain was draining away whatever strength she had. The dragon's feet began to feel heavier as she walked on. Lilac felt like she had to sit down and rest but she couldn't, not out in this rain. Being reptilian, being too cold for too long could kill her. Lilac reached the foot of the mountain but her strength gave away as she stepped onto a rock and slipped on it. She landed on her face, getting covered in dirt from the rocky surface beneath her. She managed to cut her thigh on a sharp rock as she stumbled. The rain mixed in with the bleeding cut and made it throb. The dragon winced and sat up. She tucked her legs up against her chest and hugged herself, trying to keep as warm as possible. She was freezing. She wanted to be warm and sheltered but felt too weak to reach the cave in the mountain. Lilac was stuck down at the foot of the mountain, unable to do anything but freeze to death.

"W-w-what a w-w-way t-t-to g-g-go..." Lilac shivered, "F-f-f-freezing t-t-to d-d-death in th-th-the c-c-cold and r-r-rain...th-th-thanks a-a l-l-lot M-M-Magister, Z-Z-Zao a-and D-D-Dail!"

She began shivering furiously, unable to feel her hands and feet anymore. The rain showed no signs of stopping and the wind began picking up, making her even colder. Lilac had never been so cold before. She wondered if she'd even be able to speak anymore. But just as it seemed it was the end for her, something strange happened. A robed man came levitating down from the cave in the mountain and lowered himself down in front of Lilac! The dragon's eyes widened in shock. Was she imagining things or was there actually a man in front of her. The man was wearing a dark green robe that concealed his body from head-to-toe. He had a hood up, concealing his face. He had a staff in his hand, ancient looking and wooden. He looked like some kind of wizard. Maybe he was considering the fact he had just floated down from a cliff. Lilac wasn't sure if she should trust the man. He looked highly suspicious and untrustworthy. But then the man held out a hand kindly.

"Hello there my dear child. What's the occasion? Are you lost?" he asked softly.

"I-I-I-I b-b-b-b e-e-e-e-e..." Lilac was trying to tell the mysterious man that she was exiled but she was too cold to speak. She could only manage single letters.

"Oh dear oh dear, you poor, poor girl!" the man exclaimed, "You're freezing to death out here! And you're only a child no less! Come on, I'll take you into my 'll be warm and sheltered in there."

Lilac didn't know what to do. Should she go with this stranger? Or should she stay put? Lilac suddenly realized that she was asking herself dumb questions. Of course she should go! She couldn't just let herself freeze to death out in the cold rain! Nodding, Lilac forced herself onto her feet and took the man's hand. The man waved his staff and then suddenly, he and Lilac were whisked up into the air as if an invisible force had grabbed them and was dragging them to the cave. Lilac gasped. She was actually flying! This was amazing! She managed to get a glimpse of the view from where she was as the man touched down on the lip of the cave mouth. The view would have been pleasing had it not been raining right now. The dull grey sky and the heavy raindrops sullied what should have been a nice view. The man walked into the cave with Lilac following him eagerly, still clutching herself and shivering. Water dripped down her body and hair. She felt as if she'd come out of an ice cold bath. She was relived to see that the cave had a fire blazing in the centre and there appeared to be some kind of cauldron with a rather delicious scent drifting up from it. It smelt like cooking food and it made Lilac's nose dance with joy to be smelling it. There was also a bed, curiously enough, standing at the end of the room. It looked as if it had been whisked out of a bedroom and somehow ended up in this cave. This man must live in this cave as if it's his home. Why though? Was he an exiled Avalician too? Lilac sat down in front of the fire and the man wrapped a blanket around her so she could dry off and get warm. The fire was utterly soothing, the lovely warm heat stroking Lilac's soaking body. It felt wonderful and the dragon felt so much better.

"Oh thank you sir! Thank you so much!" Lilac cried out, "I can't tell you how grateful I am for you taking me up here! Thank you so much."

"You're very, very welcome my child." the man said warmly, pulling his sodden hood back to reveal his face.

He was a wildcat just like Lilac's best friend Carol was. He had green fur that was darker than Carol's fur was and he had very fluffy cheeks. He had his whiskers styled in a way that looked as if he had a mustache rather than whiskers. He had one single stripe on his head. He had loving blue eyes that looked as if they'd seen many years go by. He was clearly old and yet he looked rather fit for his age. Lilac remembered how Carol had once told her she had a grandad who practiced magic. He looked a little like Carol and he clearly knew magic. Was this him? If so then this could possibly be the luckiest coincidence in the dragon's whole life. The old cat smiled at Lilac.

"Nice and warm are we?" he asked kindly.

"Very much so." Lilac said, her voice full of contentment, "This feels so much better. Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome child." said the wildcat happily, "Is there anything else you require?"

"Oh yes please sir." the dragon said, "I'm famished. I haven't had any breakfast yet. Please could I have some food?"

"Of course!" the old feline said briskly, "A woman as young as you needs plenty to eat. And I've got food to spare so don't worry about me. I often make too much anyway. When you're a wizard, you'll never go hungry once you know spells that create food for you like I do."

He walked over to the boiling cauldron and summoned a bowl to his hands with a snap of his fingers. He then dipped the bowl into the cauldron and filled it up with the delicious smelling broth that was inside. Lilac had seen this with amazement. The man was very magical indeed, being able to levitate and make things appear from thin air. Maybe that was how the cauldron and bed had gotten into this cave. He simply made them with magic. This man had to be Carol's supposed exiled grandfather, it couldn't be anybody else. The wildcat took the bowl over to Lilac and handed it to her. Lilac smiled at what she was given. It was a yellowy liquid that was full of meat and vegetable chunks and had a wonderful scent. It was Shuigang Chow Mien Soup, the best soup in the world and Lilac loved it whenever she had it for lunch back at home. Her mouth watered, eager to start eating the soup.

"Please sir, could I have some bread to eat with it?" the dragon asked.

"Not a problem." the wildcat said brightly.

He then snapped his fingers and summoned a roll of bread to his hand. It was sourdough bread, one of Lilac's favourite types to eat. It really was magical to watch and Lilac could see how this man had been able to get on so well in this cave. Why worry about food when you could just summon it to your hands? If only she had been so lucky to have such power. The man handed the bread to Lilac and the dragon broke a piece off to dip into her soup. The soup was warm and Lilac's tastebuds danced with delight as she put the soup-soaked bread into her mouth. It felt so good to finally be able to eat after so many hours without breakfast. Lilac swallowed and broke another piece of bread off to dunk in her soup.

"Mmm, it's good. Thank you so much." Lilac said appreciatively.

"You're very welcome dear." the wildcat said kindly, "I'm always happy to help those in need. Especially children. So tell me my little dragon, who are you and why are you out here?"

Lilac swallowed a mouth full of soup and bread before answering.

"My name is Sash Lilac the Dragon Girl." she explained, "And I'm here because I've been given a life sentence in exile."

The wizard looked stunned to hear this.

"Lilac? You're Lilac the Dragon Girl?! You mean THE Lilac the Dragon Girl who saved our world from an alien world conqueror who tried to steal the Kingdom Stone?!" he cried.

"Um...yes that's me." Lilac replied, "How do you know about this?"

"I grew concerned for the Kingdom Stone's safety so I used a magic portal to keep an eye on it." the wizard explained, "It was invisible to the naked eye of course so nobody knew it was there. I watched you and my granddaughter Carol fighting against this "Lord Brevon" person to stop the Kingdom Stone from being stolen. You were very, very brave that day and I admired you for stopping him from getting away with our valuable relic."

"Well...thank you." the dragon replied, "And by the way, you said "my granddaughter Carol". Carol mentioned me to you once. You must be her grandpa right?"

"That is correct Lilac."

"She said you were exiled for "witchcraft". You don't look like a bad man to me sir."

"Oh I'm nothing of the sort child." the wizard insisted, "I only practiced good spells like making food and the ability to teleport and even spells that could help fend off criminals. My name's Clifford the Wildcat by the way though I prefer to be called "Clifford the Sage"."

"It's an honour to meet you Clifford." Lilac said politely, "It's my pleasure to meet the grandfather of my best friend."

"You have no idea how much that means to me little dragon." Clifford said, looking as if he was going to shed happy tears, "I haven't seen anybody in over five years. It's so nice to see somebody again."

"You've been in exile for five years?!" exclaimed Lilac, "Man...no wonder Carol ended up needing to join the Red Scarves..."

"It really upset me to see my precious granddaughter working for those barbaric criminals..." muttered Clifford, "I watched her silently and unnoticed as she committed crimes and took part in fighting tournaments with those evil ninjas. I wanted to come over and stop her but I couldn't. You see, when I was sentenced to exile, I was forced to cast a spell on myself. I am unable to teleport into any of the three kingdoms. The old Magister that ruled before the one you know now made me do it just to be sure I couldn't come back and cast a horrible spell on them."

"But that's horrible!" Lilac cried, "You're not allowed to see your own granddaughter anymore just because some people thought you was gonna curse them! It's not fair!"

"I know it isn't..." the old sage muttered, "But as a wizard, I am bound to the rules of my sentence. I have to life my life in exile or be tried for treason. But enough about me, let's talk about you dear. Why were you exiled?"

"I guess you didn't see that?" Lilac asked, "It happened a week ago."

"I don't see EVERYTHING Lilac. I might have been sleeping at the time it happened to you and also, I don't always use my portals as I don't want to see too much of the world I'm missing out on. The Kingdom Stone and Carol's welfare matter most to me." Clifford explained.

"I see." the dragon murmured, "Anyway, somebody pumped me full of energy from the Dark Stone and turned me evil."

"They did not!" the old wildcat exclaimed, his face full of horror, "Tell me you're joking child!"

"I wish I was..." sighed Lilac, "Because of the Dark Stone's Energy, I ended up causing crimes such as taking over Shang Tu and making ridiculous demands that angered the other two kingdoms and because there was no evidence to prove I was innocent, the three rulers sentenced me to life in exile..."

She stared down at her soup bowl is if seeking solace in it.

"It's not fair! I've done so much good things for this world! And do you know why I do it?" the dragon complained, "Because I love my planet and will do anything I can to protect it! And this is how I'm repaid?! Accused and thought to be a villain and then cast out into the wilderness! I hate the people of Avalice! I hate them so much for their ingratitude! Same goes to the kingdom's three rulers! They've subjected me to the worst week of my life and all because of their stupidity!"

"Hmm...I see...that's very unfortunate..." Clifford sighed sadly, "But just take in mind that the people aren't going to know that you're innocent so they're hardly stupid for being unsure of something that's unclear to them."

"But I'm the heroine of Avalice!" Lilac snapped, "They shouldn't have any reason to doubt me at all!"

"Dear child, even the most pure-hearted of people can become victims of doubt." the old wizard said firmy, "Nobody is above suspicion you know. And I dunno what happened but I bet this person who filled you with Dark Stone Energy was probably a master manipulator. He or she probably manipulated the people in such a way that it was impossible for you to be above suspicion."

"Maybe so..." Lilac murmured, "A turtle named Timothy kept saying bad things about dragons and thinking I was evil and then somebody showed photographs of me and Natalya hugging to "prove" that I'm "evil". Before you ask, Natalya is good now by the way. And there was the Dark Stone Energy...and the person who pumped me full of it took it away so I had no evidence to prove I was good...yes...maybe you do have a point there. Whoever did this must have manipulated these events in such a way that the people couldn't possibly know I was innocent! And because they accused The Magister of "being in on my scheme", The Magister didn't really have a choice but to exile me to save face...maybe that's it. He did seem awfully upset about exiling me after all. I wonder if Dail felt the same way."

"Maybe he did." Clifford suggested, "You DID stop the man who killed his father after all."

Lilac nodded and ate some more of her soup and bread. Then she spoke some more.

"So maybe I shouldn't be TOO angry with the kingdoms for this..." Lilac thought aloud, "I'm still very bitter with the people for not even remotely thinking for a minute that there might be something fishy going on. Surely not EVERYBODY is that easily manipulated?"

"We'll never know my dear." Clifford said grimly, " For all we know, some people may have had doubts but were too scared to speak out against those that thought you were evil."

"Maybe..." the dragon mused, thinking the old wizard had a good point.

"Maybe." the wildcat said, "Well, we're both exiled Avalicians Lilac and because I think you deserve it, I invite you to live with me forever. I promise you that you'll be very well looked after in my cave Lilac and a woman of your heroism is more than deserving of my hospitality and kindness."

Lilac gasped in surprise. This was quite a turnaround for what a rotten day she'd been having so far. Meeting Carol's grandfather? And now being invited to LIVE with him? This day wasn't looking so bad after all. She'd be very happy living with Clifford. She'd never go hungry and she'd be well looked after. Her life in exile wasn't going to be so bad after all. Shedding tears of joy, Lilac put her soup bowl down and hugged Clifford graciously, the blanket falling off from her as she stood up. She was completely dry now and Clifford noticed how warm she felt against him.

"Thank you so, so much..." she whispered, "I can't thank you enough for your generosity. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"Your smile is payment enough my child." Clifford said brightly, hugging her back, "It fills my heart with joy to have my granddaughter's best friend living with me now. I won't be alone anymore and I'll have the Heroine of Avalice to look after like a daughter. You've brightened my day very much Lilac."

"And you've done so for me." Lilac replied, "I'm so glad to be around somebody and that I won't have to be lonely anymore."

"Indeed not." the old sage said brightly, "Now then, finish your meal my dear. When the rain stops, I might take you to the lake for a meditation session. You look like you need it."

"Thanks sir, I'd like that." the dragon said, sitting back down in front of the fire and picking up her soup bowl.

She had half of the bread she was given left and more than enough soup to eat it with. She still had plenty of food left to fill her up. Clifford watched with a smile on his face as his new friend began to eat the rest of her food. It made him feel proud to be helping another exiled Avalician deal with her sentence and feel more comfortable. Also, Lilac was his granddaughter's best friend. In his eyes, having her around was the next best thing to having Carol around. For his granddaughter's sake, he'd take very good care of Lilac and make her feel right at home in this cosy little cave. Today was definitely the best day of his life since his exile and he was determined to make the most of it. And he was determined to give Lilac a very, very good day too...

* * *

Over in Shang Mu, Memphis was sitting in a study eating a cheese board that the servants of the palace rather reluctantly brought up for him. Cheese was Memphis's favourite food in the world and he always liked to snack on a few slabs of cheese before lunch. It was his idea of comfort. Of course when the board had been brought up to him, he'd sniffed the four cubes of cheese that were on the board, expecting them to be poisoned. But they were clean. Memphis assumed that Shang Mu wasn't brave enough, or foolish enough more like, to try and assassinate him. That was good. It meant that his position was certified and that he didn't have to worry about being attacked. Memphis's board had four different brands of cheese, all of them native to Shang Mu of course. He thought Shang Mu's cheese was the best kind. Memphis cut off a slice of an orange cube of cheese on the board and popped it into his mouth, closing his mouth around the cheese knife and pulling the slice clean off. This brand he was eating was called Mu Cheese, Shang Mu's most popular brand and Memphis's favourite. He swallowed what was in his mouth and then cut himself another slice, this time from a white coloured cheese. This brand was called "White Dragon" and was particularly strong, but not too strong for Memphis's taste buds. He ate the neatly cut slice and then decided to sip some wine that he had ordered to drink with his snack. Of course, he'd tested that for poison too and his excellent nose had told him that it was clean. The wine as known as "Red Dragon", the most popular brand of wine in Avalice. Every kingdom drunk it and Memphis could see why. The slightly bitter yet sweet and fruity taste of the wine made it a pleasure to drink every time. Memphis sipped it and then put the glass back down on the table beside him. He picked up his cheese knife, ready to cut another slice. He went for a yellow coloured cheese known as "Shang-Chu", a brand of cheese that the ex-Mayor Zao often enjoyed.

"Now this is the life..." Memphis purred as he cut a slice and brought the knife to his mouth, "Surrounded by luxury, completely at peace and with nobody to get in my way. My demands will be met and I will be the most powerful Avalician in the world."

He put the knife blade in his mouth and pulled the cheese slice off with his tongue. He allowed the cheese to linger in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. He was about to eat a slice of his fourth cheese cube, this one a mixture of yellow and white and known as the "Double Dose Cheese" since it looked like two cheeses mixed together but before his knife could slice through the cheese, there was a knock at his door. Memphis wasn't bothered by this. He was expecting this visitor. He brought his knife down through the cheese and turned his head.

"Come in." he ordered politely.

He inserted the Double Dose slice into his mouth as the door opened and in walked just who he was expecting, Spade the Panda. The ninja criminal had joined forces with him after the Red Scarves had joined Memphis and broke him out under his orders a week ago. He had been very grateful to Memphis for this and was now serving him faithfully, which was a sharp contrast to how he felt about Natalya under her rule. Memphis had treated him much better than Natalya ever did. It was like he was trying to prove he was better than her although Spade didn't know that Memphis actually knew Natalya. He was still proud to be serving him now.

"Hello master." he said, bowing politely to his draconian ruler.

"Greetings my young lad." Memphis said, "I trust your presence is justified by news of the delightful kind?"

"Sure is master." Spade said, "The Red Scarves have surrounded every inch of the palace. Nobody's getting near this place without being spotted. It's as simple as that. if anybody takes a shot at you, which they certainly won't do given your demands, they'll be spotted before they get within twenty yards. I even have men on roofs with binoculars to look out long distances. Just as you instructed."

"Do you have any men in the sewers?" the red-scaled dragon asked.

"Um...no? Why would I put men in the sewers?" asked Spade curiously.

"Why do you think you idiot?!" Memphis snapped, "Somebody might try and get into the palace via the sewers! I'm not taking any chances at this point in time! I've been working for too long and too hard to get what I want and I am NOT going to lose everything! Nothing can be overlooked my boy so you better get some Red Scarves prowling in the sewers before disaster strikes!"

"But...all my men are surrounding the palace...I haven't got any left." the panda protested.

"Then reassign some of your men to the sewers!" the dragon retorted, "Maybe about ten ninjas will do down there."

"That still leaves plenty to guard the palace." Spade said with a smile, "Very good idea master."

"Thank you Spade." Memphis purred, "Any other news you'd like to share with me?"

"Only that we've received NO response from Shang Tu and Shuigang yet." the Red Scarf announced, "I can't really see my idiot brother ceding to your demands if I'm honest. The Magister...maybe he will but I doubt it."

"It doesn't matter if they do ignore me." Memphis sneered, cutting a piece of Mu Cheese, "Cheese?"

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Very well." the dragon said, popping the slice into his mouth, "As I say, if they ignore my demands, I'll wipe their kingdoms off of the face of Avalice with my Sky Battalion. The airships are nearly ready for launch after all. They have until the sunsets. If they don't accept...then they'll have ruination to deal with."

"I understand." Spade said, "Don't think I'll be too happy with you killing my brother though. I don't have any love for him but I never really wanted him dead. I hope you understand that."

"I do. I just hope you won't try and stop me should it be time to blow Shuigang to pieces." Memphis warned, "I could kill you before you even blink if you dare to defy me. But since you're loyal and all, I won't have to wipe blood off of my hands now will I?"

"No sir. That is all the news I have for you by the way."

"Then you may leave and join your men in guarding the palace."

"Yes sir."

"One more thing though..." Memphis said quickly, "Make sure Timothy never leaves this palace. I don't want him sneaking off and getting any ideas."

"And you haven't killed him yet why exactly?" asked Spade.

"I will do...in time." the dragon purred sinisterly, "But he's still useful to me. He knows Lilac's friends. If they ever come here for whatever reason, maybe to try and prove Lilac's innocence, he'll identify them for me and I'll know if I've got the right people."

"Ah, I see. But I can do that for you too." the panda noted.

"Then I have TWO pairs of eyes being useful to me." crowed Memphis, "Now, get back to your guard duty if you please."

Spade bowed and left the room, returning to his station which was directly in front of Shang Mu's doors. As soon as Spade left, Memphis cut himself another piece of cheese and ate it gleefully. Then he picked up his wine glass and stared into the purple liquid as if he could see a window to his future in it.

"Nobody can get in my way now..." he boasted, "I've left nothing to chance. Nobody will get in here without me knowing about it. And nobody will be able to stop me. Not even my ex-girlfriend...and my exiled niece. What I wouldn't give to see their faces if they could see me now..."

He chuckled to himself as he sipped some more wine. He was enjoying himself immensely. He was the new Mayor of Shang Mu...and soon...he would be ruler of the entire world. Little did he know is that he would soon receive some unwelcome visitors...Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Natalya had arrived at Shang Mu...and were waiting to make their move...

* * *

 _ **Yay, Lilac's found somebody she can live happily with so her exile isn't so sad anymore! :D But that's hardly anything to be happy about. Memphis is still in charge of Shang Mu and time is ticking! Will he be stopped? Can Lilac's friends infiltrate the palace successfully? Find out next time as we witness the "Infiltration"...**_


	4. Chapter 4: Infiltration

_Chapter 4: Infiltration_

It was amazing to think how close they had gotten to Shang Mu and they still hadn't been spotted yet. Natalya had crept quietly towards the red-coloured kingdom after she and the rest of the gang had arrived on the outskirts and she had expected to find guards on patrol, looking out for any signs of outsiders hoping to come in and try to take a shot at Memphis. But it seemed that the area was unguarded. It struck Natalya as very odd. Memphis left NOTHING to chance. He wasn't stupid. He wouldn't ever leave a place unguarded. She'd lived with him for many years after joining the dragon cult he'd once been part of and she knew him well enough to know that leaving a place unguarded was not in Memphis's character at all. Her suspicions were soon confirmed as she saw a Red Scarf ninja prowling through the streets, keeping a keen eye out for danger. The ninja's eyes were serious and stern, waiting for the smallest excuse to attack. Natalya could tell from the look on the ninja's face that he would attack if somebody so much as winked at him.

Upon hearing the dreaded news story that had turned her world upside down and answered the questions she'd been asking for a whole week, Natalya had set off to Shang Mu with Carol, Milla, Miguel and Lela eagerly following her. They wanted nothing more than to save the kingdom from the very man who had framed Lilac and gotten her exiled. Carol had wanted to find Lilac and bring her home first and then stop Memphis but Natalya had decided against it. She wanted her adopted daughter back too but the dragon knew that they couldn't put Lilac above Shang Mu. What if it took them days to find her, weeks even? Shang Mu would be in misery and despite Mayor Zao doubting Lilac's innocence when the Dark Stone had been used three weeks ago, she did not want the kingdom to suffer at her ex-boyfriend's hands. It didn't deserve to. It had been manipulated by Memphis and was paying the price for it. Nobody deserved to suffer his wrath. Also, by the time they found Lilac, it would likely be too late and Shuigang and Shang Tu would be destroyed if they refused Memphis's demands. The Heroine of Avalice would be heartbroken to come back to a scene of ruination, especially since her uncle would be the one causing it. Like it or not, Lilac had to wait and thus, the gang had set off to Shang Mu to stop Memphis first. Once he was taken down, they would go and find Lilac and bring her home where she belonged.

It had taken them an hour and to reach Shang Mu. It was eleven o' clock now and the five had finally arrived at the grandiose kingdom with its huge shopping malls and predominantly red colour-scheme. They were on the outskirts, not very deep into the city itself at all, and they were keeping a look out for any patrolling guards. Natalya, who was once again wearing her trademark leather trench coat for the mission, had seen a Red Scarf ninja and now she was expecting the place to be crawling with them. She retreated behind the building that she and the others were hiding behind and quietly whispered to them.

"I was right, this place is guarded." she hissed, "Memphis ALWAYS has guards. The Red Scarves are those guards. I should've known they wouldn't abide to my orders..."

"You give them a big threat and they still dare to show their faces..." Miguel muttered, "There's no getting rid of them is there?"

"Indeed...I order them to disband and they ignore me, I threaten them and they still ignore me..." Natalya sighed, "I bet even if I killed them all, they'd still come back some how."

"Maybe they would." muttered Carol, "I can imagine that Spade's really relishing Lilac's exile right about now..."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's ecstatic..." Natalya grumbled, "And I should've expected the Red Scarves here since Spade told me he and the team were working for a client. It's obvious now that the client he was referring to was Memphis himself. How did I not work that out...?"

"Because we all thought it was obviously Timothy. He was the likeliest one to be behind it." the wildcat noted, "And me, Miguel, Lela and Milla wouldn't have known because we've never met Memphis before. He really did play us all for chumps didn't he?"

"And because of him, Shang Mu's taken over and Lilac's in exile!" piped Milla, "And we're going to stop him!"

"Any ideas how to get to him?" asked Lela nervously.

"If I know Memphis, and I do having wasted ten years of my life with him...he'll have guards in every likely place he can put them." the leather-clad dragon mused, "I've seen him put guards on roofs, at doors and windows and strategically position them all around big areas like this, making sure not one inch of land is unobserved. There's no point going through Shang Mu was it's very likely we're going to be seen. If so much as ONE ninja sees us, he'll raise the alarm and Memphis will be alerted. It'll be no good taking them out either for the others will just notice the bodies and alert Memphis. He leaves NOTHING to chance."

"Sooooooo...how do we get to the Royal Palace?" asked Carol.

"We could arrange for ourselves to be captured..." Natalya suggested, "But Memphis might smell a rat since he'll know for certain I DON'T get captured easily..."

"Does Shang Mu have drainage tunnels?" asked Milla, "Like Shang Tu does?"

"Of course they do, all the kingdoms have drainage tunnels." the mauve dragon replied, "I actually relocated the scarves here after breaking them out, something I really regret doing all those weeks ago..."

"Well...could we sneak into the palace that way?" the puppy asked.

Natalya thought for a moment about Milla's suggestion. Would Memphis be meticulous enough to actually put guards in the sewers? Or was putting guards in the sewers so unthinkable that even Memphis wouldn't have thought it? He probably would have thought it but the dragon knew that it wouldn't matter too much if they were spotted in the sewers. The Red Scarves would be cut off from the other ninjas up on the surface so if the heroes were spotted, the Red Scarves would have a harder time alerting Memphis since they'd all be together in one place and would have to run through several tunnels to reach him whereas the ones outside could pass the message on and on until it reached the oppressive dragon. Natalya nodded at Milla. The dog had a good idea on how to get in the palace.

"Yes…we could." Natalya agreed, "Milla, you've got the best idea. Well done."

"Thank you." Milla said graciously.

"So how do we get into the tunnels?" asked Carol, "Find a manhole and walk down into them?"

"Well that's how we got into Shang Tu's sewage tunnels." Lela noted, "We'll have to take great care not to be seen though. If those ninjas see us climbing down into the sewers, they'll alert Memphis and he'll be waiting for us."

"Indeed…" Natalya agreed, "Everybody remain vigilant and…"

"We don't have to go very far to look for a manhole." Miguel interrupted, "Look, there's one right there."

He pointed to a manhole cover that was a few feet away from their hiding place. It was a huge, round, silver disc built into the tarmac with the words "Shang Mu Sewers" carved into the metal. There was a handle on one side that allowed anybody working down in the tunnels to open it up and climb down into them. Carol smiled at Miguel.

"Well spotted Mr. Basset." she said, "I wonder what Memphis will think when we get into the palace in a way he'd never expect."

"He'll likely be very surprised." Natalya said grimly, "Though I can't help but wonder if he is expecting somebody to try sneaking in using the sewers too…"

"Oh come on Natalya, surely he isn't THAT smart?" asked Lela.

"Don't underestimate Memphis…" the former villainess warned, "It'll be the last mistake you ever make. Trust me, I've known him long enough to know his strengths and weaknesses. You must trust me on this mission. It'll save your lives."

The four Avalicians all nodded, understanding Natalya's concerns. They were dealing with the man who killed Lilac's parents, who were also Natalya's best friends, and also the man who had gotten Lilac exiled through manipulation methods and trickery. If there was anybody who they had to trust when it came to Memphis and how dangerous he was, it was Natalya. They would take her advice to heart for this mission.

"We've got ya." said Carol, "We'll be very careful and we won't take Memphis for granted. Though I seriously owe him a broken nose for getting my best friend exiled…"

"I doubt you'd get anywhere near him before he knocked you down flat on your face..." Natalya said gravely, "Enough talk my friends, let's go and stop Memphis before his reign can be allowed to continue..."

The wildcat and hounds didn't wait to be asked twice. They wanted the man who got Lilac exiled defeated and imprisoned as much as Natalya did, especially Carol and Milla. Natalya crept away from their hiding place, looking up, down, left and right to make sure that nobody was watching as she headed towards the manhole cover. The coast was clear. No Red Scarves had been stationed on any roofs nearby and any ninjas on patrol had walked off to search another area. They were safe. Natalya reached the manhole and slowly, steadily opened it. She didn't want to make any noise at all in fear of attracting attention. She knew her former disciples well enough to know that they had good hearing. And when they heard something that didn't sound right to them, they would be quick to investigate it. These were the times were Natalya found herself regretting ever formulating the Red Scarves in the first place. Their job would be so much easier if she hadn't. The mauve-scaled dragon fully opened the manhole and signalled for the others to come over to her. Carol, Milla, Miguel and Lela carefully approached Natalya, keeping an eye out for danger. Carol found herself thankful that she had once been a Red Scarf so she knew what to expect when trying to avoid being seen by them. Also the skills she'd learnt under Natalya's wing would payoff beautifully in this situation. Miguel and Lela shared Carol's thankfulness for they were now putting the skills they'd learnt under Natalya's leadership to good use. Milla was the only one who hadn't been a Red Scarf previously and thus, didn't have the necessary skills for stealth so to compensate for it, she tried copying what her parents were doing. She moved slowly like her parents did and made sure not to make any sounds. She also noticed that the two were consistently looking left and right, keeping an eye out for any Red Scarves. The puppy did the same thing.

Soon everybody had gathered around the manhole and they descended down into the sewers with Natalya going in first and Lela going in last. The smell of the sewers hit them like a wave from the sea. It made them all feel sick to their stomachs and Milla in particular thought she was going to puke. She fought off the urge to be sick as the group began to trek through the smelly, dark tunnels. The sewage tunnels didn't look much different to Shang Tu's. They had the same rows and rows of pipelines, brick walls, dirty water trickling on either side of the path and archways. Did all drainage tunnels look the same everywhere in the world? It wouldn't surprise the five Avalicians if that was the case. Carol began to wonder what the Red Scarves's hideout in these tunnels would have looked like before they had moved out three weeks ago. Did it look the same as their hideout in Shang Tu? She doubted that Natalya would let her find that out for they weren't looking for the Red Scarves's hideout. They were going to get into the Royal Palace. Natalya lead the way, heading through the first archway as she led the team towards the Royal Palace. Unlike the others, she wasn't too bothered by the smell of the place. She had grown used to it after hiding out in the Shang Tu drainage tunnels for so long. The smell of the sewers was hardly bothersome to her. She imagined that the wildcat and hounds weren't dealing with it as well as her though as they hadn't been trained to ignore bad smells.

"I know it stinks down here but try your best to ignore it please." Natalya said, "We can hardly let a bad smell stop us now."

"We know." Carol said, trying not to gag, "So how long will it take us to reach the Royal Palace down here?"

"A few minutes at most." Natalya deducted, "The Red Scarves's hideout here wasn't positioned too far away from the palace so once we get there, that's a sign we're getting close."

"Good." said Miguel, "The sooner we get outta these smelly tunnels, the better."

"I agree daddy." Milla moaned, "It stinks down here! I feel like I'm gonna be sick!"

"Please don't little Milla, if the ninjas find your vomit, they'll know somebody's here and tell Memphis." Natalya warned, "I did train these ninjas to treat any unusual sight with suspicion after all."

"Bet you wish you'd never made up the Red Scarves now." muttered Carol, "They wouldn't be causing us so much trouble if you hadn't..."

"Well if Memphis hadn't ruined my life, Spade and his cronies would likely be living boring lives or at least, be criminals who aren't a group." the dragon said, "So blame him for that, not me."

"I pretty much blame that guy for every bad thing you did." the wildcat said sympathetically, "You went bad after he killed Lilac's mom, your best friend and saviour. You never chose to be bad and thus, I blame Memphis for what you've done, even teaming up with Brevon to use the Dark Stone on Lilac."

"A day I still regret very much since I somewhat caused this whole thing to happen...once again, thanks to Memphis." growled Natalya.

"Say, isn't it funny how everything that's happened concerning you is pretty much his fault?" Carol noted, "If he hadn't killed Lilac's mom and dad then you wouldn't have gone nuts and formed the Red Scarves which then led to the Christmas Raid last year and then the Dark Stone fiascao two weeks ago and now this! It's almost like everything that's gone wrong for us, we can blame on Memphis!"

Natalya nodded. In a way, Carol had a point. Everything from the Christmas Raid to now was pretty much Memphis's fault. Who knew the death of her best friend could have led to all of this? Life sure took strange routes for some people.

"That is kinda strange and almost ironic..." Lela agreed, "Though the Lord Brevon business is obviously not his fault. That still would have happened if Natalya was still good at the time."

"Wonder what it would have been like if Natalya had always been good?" Milla asked, "Would I ever have met Lilac and Carol?"

"That's a bit of a thought..." Carol murmured, "Would I have met Lilac if there had been no Red Scarves...?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I guess we've learnt that good things can come out of bad things as well as vice versa..." Natalya mused, "Life is indeed a strange thing..."

She then suddenly fell silent and held up a hand, ordering her friends to stop. Carol and the hounds stood still and waited as Natalya observed what was ahead. She had clearly seen something they hadn't and was making sure it was safe to move on. It wasn't. Spade and a team of ninjas were roaming the sewers, making sure that nobody was sneaking around them and trying to get into the palace. Natalya glared at her former second in command. How she would love to flatten Spade's face into the ground! It would go well with the scars she'd left on him after whipping him callously for being disloyal to her after the Christmas Raid had gone horribly wrong. But she knew that she had to be subtle. A fight down here could have consequences. Somebody above ground might hear the fight and one of the ninjas could run away and warn Memphis. They had to distract them and get past them without being seen. Spade and the ninjas had their backs turned and were observing a huge pipe built in the wall with filthy water trickling out of it. Now was a good time to carry out a distraction.

"OK everybody, I've got an idea." Natalya hissed, "Milla, sneak up behind the Red Scarves and then throw a green energy block now the tunnel to your left. That'll make the scarves run down the left tunnel, leaving us free to go to the right. The right tunnel will take us to the palace."

"What if they hear me?" asked Milla worriedly.

"They won't. You have bare feet. As long as you keep out of the water, you won't make a sound." the dragon insisted.

Milla nodded, believing that Natalya was right. She summoned a green block above her head and crept towards the team of ninjas, making sure her bare feet never splashed on any puddles or water nearby. Carol, Miguel and Lela held their breath as the young canine crept towards the ninjas. Milla allowed herself to get close enough to make out the texture of Spade's fur before she turned to one side and threw the energy block down the left tunnel. The block hurled through the air and came down with a crash onto the floor, bursting into nothing as it hit. Spade's head snapped around to his left and Milla dived down the right tunnel just as he looked. The dog's heart was pounding. Would Spade take the bait? She held her breath as Spade and the ninjas observed the left tunnel.

"Did you hear that?" asked Spade.

"I did!" cried one ninja, "I think there might be somebody down there!"

"All of you check it out, I'll stay here and make sure that everything is normal." Spade ordered.

Milla sighed in annoyance. Spade didn't take the bait! He was staying put while his team observed the tunnel! The team of ninjas all ran down the tunnel to check it out while Spade stood by the pipe, waiting for something to happen. It was like he knew that something was wrong and that he couldn't go with his team in fear of something happening. Milla wished that the panda would go away already but she knew that he wasn't going to. She had to get rid of him. And she knew just how to do it. Milla summoned another green energy block to her hands and threw it straight at the ninja panda's head. Spade grunted as he was hit and he collapsed onto his side. His head banged sharply against the pipe, knocking him out instantly. A large bump protruded from where he'd hit himself, just near his right ear. The coast was now clear for her friends. Natalya, Carol, Miguel and Lela ran up the tunnel to meet Milla. Natalya wasn't too pleased with the little puppy though.

"Milla, you weren't supposed to knock him out!" she snapped, "What if his team comes back and sees him?! They'll know that they've got intruders!"

"I'm sorry..." the dog whimpered, "I...I didn't know what to do to get rid of him..."

"Well next time think carefully!" Natalya retorted, "You and Carol run on ahead and get into the palace while me, Miguel and Lela relocate Spade's body to lower suspicions."

"Okie-dokie." said Carol brightly, "We'll be extra careful once we get inside Natalya, don't worry about us."

"We'll be good!" Milla promised.

"I know you will." the dragon said softly, smiling at her former student and the little dog.

With that said, Carol and Milla scampered off down the right tunnel while Natalya, Miguel and Lela picked up Spade's unconscious body. They were going to place Spade in another section of the tunnels and then revive him. If his team found him, it would come across as if he'd just decided to check another section of the tunnel. If Spade told them he'd been knocked out, he'd be unable to tell them why and what had happened so his team would assume he'd slipped and accidentally hit his head. Once Spade was revived, the trio would then leave to join Carol and Milla in the Royal Palace. The dragon and hounds took Spade through three archways before plopping him down near a pipe in the wall that had water running through it. The pipe was rusty and the running water was very loud. It would wake him up instantly. The three Avalicians quickly ran off just as the panda came to with the loud sound of whooshing water being carried from one place to another through the pipe. Spade's eyes opened and he looked around to see what had happened. He had been moved and his head was throbbing from when he'd been knocked out. What had happened? Had he been hit by a falling section of the ceiling? He felt the bump on his head. He'd definitely been hit by something. But how had he been moved? Had one of his teammates done it to try and wake him up? It didn't seem likely. There was only him around. Spade began to feel the seeds of doubt being sown into his consciousness. Were their intruders around? It was possible but he didn't dare jump to conclusions yet. He could be wrong. Shaking it off, Spade roamed back up the tunnels he'd been brought down to resume his search. He didn't notice that he was being followed as he headed back up the tunnels. Neera Li had reached the sewers too, knowing that she wouldn't be expected down there. After being sent by The Magister to stop Memphis, she had run to Shang Mu and had noticed the Red Scarves all prowling the streets up above. So like Natalya and her team, she'd decided to sneak into the palace under their noses. She followed Spade until he reached the tunnel with the pipe in the wall that led both left and right and as Spade turned to his left to see how his team was doing, the priestess turned to the right and ran down the tunnel. She would freeze Spade later, Memphis was a top priority. And she was looking forward to locking him up at last...

* * *

Much later, Carol and Milla came to a ladder built into the wall. The ladder consisted of several bar, shaped rungs welded to the wall and they led all the way up to a manhole cover in the ceiling. They had to have arrived at their destination. The Royal Palace would be up above them right now. Seizing their chances, Carol and Milla climbed up the rungs and all the way up to the ceiling. Before they went in, Carol ordered Milla to keep quiet and not to move while she checked to see if the coast was clear. The cat slowly and steadily opened up the sewer lid. The drainage tunnels had taken them directly beside the palace itself. Carol was looking up at a window that had been opened to let in some fresh air for the occupants inside. The wildcat's keen, sharp eyes looked around to see if any ninjas were on guard. There was nobody around. Had the ninjas left the side of the palace to observe another area? Either way, they had to take advantage of it. Carol climbed out of the sewers and helped Milla out too. The two hoped that they didn't smell too bad having traipsed through a few miles of drainage tunnels. If they did then Memphis would find out he had company instantly. Carol and Milla closed the manhole up and they climbed in through the open window. They found themselves in what appeared to be the palace kitchen. There was food waiting to be prepared, rows of sinks and lots of drawers containing all the necessary equipment and essentials needed for a kitchen. The wildcat sniffed herself. She was right to be concerned, she absolutely stunk. So did Milla. They had to get rid of the smell and fast. Carol ran over to a sink and grabbed a bar of soap. She rubbed it all over herself and then gave it to Milla.

"Use this, it'll stop us from stinking of sewer water." Carol ordered.

Milla obeyed, wiping every inch of her body with the soap. Once she was finished, Carol took the soap back and washed off all the fur they'd left on it down the sink. They couldn't let Memphis or any of the palace staff find any clues that they were here. Any evidence had to be buried. Nobody would know they'd been here now the soap was completely clean. The wildcat and dog sniffed themselves. They smelt much better now. Nobody would smell them out in the palace.

"OK, now what?" asked Milla.

"We find Memphis and make sure he's still home." replied Carol, "Then we wait for Natalya and your folks to come and join us in beating the crap outta him."

"I look forward to beating him up!" the dog declared, "I'm very angry with him for getting Lilac exiled! And you know I don't get angry very often..."

"I'm angry too Milla." the cat said sympathetically, "Which is why we're doing this, to stop Memphis from ruining everybody's lives and so Lilac has something nice to come home to when we find her."

"And that makes me happy." Milla piped, "So where are we starting?"

"Memphis might be up in Zao's bedroom." Carol deduced, "Experience has taught me that the bad guys often like to hang out in their bedrooms or at least in an upstairs room. We'll search the bedroom first."

Milla nodded, accepting Carol's plan. The two kids then left the kitchen and found themselves walking into the grandiose dining hall that they had once eaten sushi in when Zao had invited them for dinner last year during Lord Brevon's atrocities against the planet. The dining room still looked as fabulous as it did back then with its enormous table, many chairs and a huge dragon sculpture on the wall to commemorate the Ancient Dragon that had inspired the three kingdoms they knew today. Carol was sad that she wasn't here to have dinner with Zao again; it would be much more pleasant than being here to snoop on Memphis. But Carol knew that she couldn't lose sight of what was most important now. She and Milla walked through the dining room and the wildcat slowly opened the door to make sure that the coast was clear and they could move on. She inched the door open centimetre by centimetre until it was open enough for her to see out of. Carol looked left and right to see if there were any guards around. There were two Red Scarves patrolling the hallway but they were heading away from her position and walking down another corridor to check it. Carol and Milla wouldn't be seen. Sighing with relief, Carol opened the door fully and she and Milla scampered out into the hallway. The hallway was huge and had doors on both sides and at the far end of the room that all led to some room or another in the huge, opulent building. Carol and Milla needed to go upstairs in order to search the bedrooms.

The wildcat ran over to a door in the back of the hallway and opened it. It led to another hallway and this hallway, while smaller than the one they were currently in, was still grand looking and had a huge, marble staircase that led up to the second storey of the palace. This was just what they needed. Carol and Milla ran to the staircase and climbed up to the very top. The two glanced down just to make sure nobody had spotted them. Three ninjas entered the hallway, prompting the cat and dog to move quickly in case they looked up the staircase and saw them. They disappeared down the corridor the moment the ninjas walked past the staircase. The corridor they were in was long and had many doors that led to many rooms. It seemed that Mayor Zao needed to know which room was which though for the doors were conveniently labelled. The cat and dog walked by doors that were labelled "Study", "Bathroom" and "Balcony room". They eventually managed to find a door that was labelled "Mayor's Bedroom". It was quite clear that Zao wanted the people in the palace to know that this room was his room and nobody else's. Feeling excited and nervous at the same time, Carol slowly opened the bedroom door. She was expecting to find Memphis inside right now and if he was in there, she and Milla would have to run for it. But the room was empty. Nobody was inside. Carol sighed with relief and allowed herself to walk inside the empty room. The bedroom was very extravagant looking with a four poster bed with soft pillows and crisp sheets, some dragon sculptures and even a mirror with a frame sculpted like dragons all around it, a fancy wardrobe and a soft, carpeted floor. Milla liked the way it felt on her paw pads as she stepped into the room. The cat and dog slowly walked around the room, keeping an eye out for Memphis. The room was empty but it didn't mean that Memphis wasn't around. He could be in any other room. He might even be in the toilet. Carol had noticed there was a door labelled "toilet" near where the bed was. Perhaps the mayors who lived in the palace felt a need to have a toilet nearby when they needed it in the night. The wildcat wondered if Memphis was in there. She pressed her ear against the door and listened. She heard nothing.

"Nope, not in here." Carol murmured.

"Do you think he's in the wardrobe?" asked Milla, pointing at the huge, opulent wardrobe that stood proudly in one corner of the room. It was big enough to hide a few bodies, hence why Milla had the idea.

"Now why the heck would he be in there?" the tomboy feline snapped, "He hasn't got any reason to hide in there. There's no way he's in there."

"But there's nowhere else he could be…" the dog said sadly, "Maybe we should look somewhere else?"

"I think so too Milla." Carol agreed, "He's clearly not in here. I even wonder if he's in the palace at all?"

"Why would he be out?" Milla asked.

Carol was about to answer until suddenly, she heard voices coming from outside. Two voices in fact. One sounded heavily familiar whereas the other was new to her. But the former Red Scarf was not going to stick around and guess who it was.

"Eep! Hide!" the cat squeaked, accidentally brushing her hand across the neatly made bed-sheets and leaving a small crease in them.

The wildcat and hound quickly scampered into the wardrobe, the only place they could hide in without getting spotted. They closed the doors and held their breath as the bedroom door opened and two people walked inside. Carol could feel her heart kicking at her ribcage as if desperate to escape from it. She opened the wardrobe door a millimetre and peeked through it. She could feel Milla trembling against her, wondering who was here. Carol saw Timothy Turtle walk into the room with a red-skinned dragon with flame tattoos on his arms and a cane in his hand. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Timothy and then focused on the dragon. This had to be Memphis, it couldn't be anybody else. He was a lot scarier looking than she'd imagined he would look. And she was surprised to see that he was red, having expected him to be purple like Lilac. She watched as Memphis and Timothy closed the bedroom door and turned to face each other.

"I know that your plan is completed and all Memphis but you don't need to keep an eye on me as if I'm plotting to sneak off and tell on you or something!" the turtle complained, "I didn't get you this far to be treated as your prisoner you know!"

"Timothy my dear, senile old man, you should know by now that I don't leave anything to chance." Memphis crooned, "I'm not expecting you to sneak off and tell Lilac what's happened but at the same time, I can't let that opportunity be available to you. I know you don't really like me so I have to be cautious. Nothing personal really."

"If you say so..." Timothy sighed, "So what's my role now you're the new Mayor of Shang Mu?"

"You can be my right-hand man if you wish." the dragon purred, "Serving me faithfully and staying by my side as I rule over Avalice."

"Sounds wonderful I'm sure..." the old reptile muttered, "I doubt it'll help me get over what I've helped you accomplish though."

"I don't care if you don't get over it as long as you remain loyal to me." Memphis said sternly.

As Carol and Milla found themselves listening to the conversation, they found themselves hating Memphis even more and pitying Timothy. It was bad enough that he actually liked dragons and had been pretending to hate them for Memphis's benefit but now the dragon was treating the turtle like a prisoner and a servant despite helping him get this far. What had led the poor turtle to make a deal with his horrible man? They hoped to find out soon. The two listened on as the conversation continued.

"So Timothy, is there a title that you would like in order to feel more important now you're my right-hand man?" the red-skinned dragon asked.

"I don't want a title thank you." Timothy grumbled.

"Suit yourself." Memphis shrugged, "Now then..."

He was then suddenly cut off as his eyes were cast over his bed. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the bed as if he'd seen a spider scuttling across it. Carol and Milla began to feel nervous. This couldn't be good. Memphis had seen something suspicious, they just knew it! The dragon strode over to the bed and took a closer look at it, seeing what it was that had caught his attention and sent alarm bells ringing. There was a slight crease in the bed sheets as if somebody had run their hand over it and not bothered to smooth the creases out.

"Somebody's been in my bedroom!" Memphis declared, "The bed sheets have been touched!"

"Are you sure?" asked Timothy.

"Of course I'm sure you idiot! Look!"

The old turtle glanced at the bed sheets through his oversized spectacles and saw the crease that told Memphis that he had an intruder. Timothy knew that Memphis wouldn't have done that, he was a very tidy person and he hadn't been in the bedroom since he'd inspected it earlier along with the rest of the palace.

"Are you sure somebody didn't just do a messy job at making the bed?" he asked.

"No you moron! The bed was ready made! There wasn't a single crease in the bed sheets when I inspected the room earlier!" Memphis snapped, "Somebody has been in here!"

"One of the staff perhaps?"

"No...I don't think so. The staff aren't allowed in here unless the bed needs making..."

That alone was enough to tell Carol and Milla that they had to get out of the bedroom and fast before Memphis began searching the place for them. Carol opened the wardrobe door and looked out to see Memphis and Timothy glancing at each other. If she was lucky, they wouldn't turn in her direction. Being as quiet as possible, Carol and Milla sneaked out of the wardrobe and crept towards the bedroom door. Unfortunately, Memphis caught a whiff of their scent. He could smell soap and fur from the two and that caused him to turn around and spot the two girls. Carol and Milla froze as Memphis's eyes settled on them. It was as if he had a Basilisk stare and he'd managed to petrify the two with merely his eyes.

"Who are you two?!" the dragon snarled, "And how did you get in here?!"

"Um...we got lost?" said Carol weakly.

"I know those two!" Timothy cried out, jumping up and down in a frenzy, "It's those meddling brats that Lilac hangs out with! What were their names again? Um...Carol and Milla! They're the ones who harassed me after I pretended to hate dragons!"

"So these are the ones who unwillingly ended up giving you more "proof" of Lilac's "evil"..." Memphis purred, almost amused at the fact he was looking at his niece's two friends, "Well in that case, allow me to thank you two. You played a part in Lilac getting exiled without even knowing it. Too bad she's not here to save you two now..."

He then suddenly charged towards the cat and dog, moving at a speed only a dragon could ever achieve. For a moment, he was a red and blue blur sweeping across the floor towards Carol and Milla. The tomboy feline didn't even have time to so much as blink before she felt a heavy punch slam callously into her stomach. Carol was thrown off of her feet by the attack and sent crashing heavily into the door. She hit it so hard that she nearly knocked it clean off of its hinges. The wildcat groaned in pain. It felt like being punched by Natalya all over again, only worse since Memphis had punched her with his left fist, the one that had a ring on. The ring had left a mark on Carol's stomach from the punch. Milla gasped in shock and decided to avenge Carol by summoning a green block above her head. But as she ran towards Memphis, anger taking over her for the first time in a long while, the dragon pursed his lips and spat out a spear of flame at the dog's bare feet. The flame hit Milla's feet, scorching them instantly and tripping her up. Crying in pain, Milla hit the floor and dropped the block. It burst into nothing as it hit the floor. Memphis sneered at the hound and raised his energy-conductor-cane up above his head. He aimed for Milla's head, ready to crash it down onto it and kill her. But the dog was saved by Carol picking herself up and throwing herself at Memphis, clawing at him savagely. The wildcat was full of rage, hatred and fury and wanted the man who had manipulated the kingdoms into exiling Lilac to pay for what he'd done. But the dragon took the attacks and simply walloped Carol across the head with his cane. The wildcat was thrown onto her side, her head spinning from the heavy blow. Timothy watched the battle with worry. He wanted Carol and Milla to win so they could fix the damages he had helped Memphis cause and be free at last but it seemed that the conquering dragon had the upper hand. He was clearly more skilled, stronger, faster and better than the two kids. Milla ran towards Memphis and threw an energy block at him. But the red-scaled Avalician merely spun around and smacked the block away with his cane, astonishing the hound.

"Do you really think that primitive shield trickery can stop me?" he sneered, "I've dealt with you hounds before. Some of you have shield powers and they're always the same, primitive and weak."

Milla gasped in astonishment. So more hounds than her had energy powers? She didn't have time to consider the fact interesting for Memphis ran up to her and uppercut her in the chin. The dog squealed in pain as she landed on the soft, carpeted floor and clutched her jaw in agony. Her chin was throbbing as if she'd been hit by a hammer rather than a fist. Carol saw this and was livid. Nobody ever hurt Milla and lived! She ran towards Memphis and delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of the dragon's head, hitting him squarely in the middle. Memphis didn't even flinch as he was hit. Carol was gobsmacked. That had been her strongest, most powerful kick! How had that not caused him to collapse?! Memphis just turned and sneered at Carol, totally confident and well in control of the fight.

"Is that really all you've got my girl?" he crowed.

Carol gulped. If a roundhouse kick to the back of the head didn't take Memphis out then nothing will! She realized at long last how serious Natalya had been when talking about Memphis. She really was out of his depth with him. She had no chance against him. Laughing, Memphis spun around on his heels and roundhouse kicked Carol onto the floor. The kick felt like he'd swung a wrecking ball into her side. The wildcat hit the floor, wincing terribly in pain and wondering if Memphis had broken a rib or too. Then the dragon advanced on Carol and raised his cane, ready to strike her on the head and kill her. Milla tried to stop him but as she ran behind him, Memphis's twin-tipped tendril suddenly shot out and wrapped around her throat. His tendril was able to move on its own, a trait few dragons possessed. Milla gagged loudly, trying to praise Memphis's tendril off of her neck so she could breathe. But his tendril held on tight, refusing to let go. The dog found herself feeling light-headed as she was denied her oxygen supply. Sneering, Memphis ignored Milla and left her to be strangled by his tendril while he prepared to finish off Carol. The wildcat saw the cane glinting in the bedroom light and she covered her face in fright, already imagining it swinging down and smashing her skull to pieces. She would be killed instantly. What would Lilac think to her death at her uncle's hands? She would never find out...

Timothy watched, almost tempted to try and stop Memphis but luckily, he was spared having to take the risk. Before Memphis could kill Carol, somebody suddenly pile-dived him in the back and sent him flying into the bed at the other side of the room. It was Natalya! She and the hound parents had finally caught up to Carol and Milla and Natalya had been all too happy to land a savage blow on her best friend's killer. Miguel and Lela had been quick to comfort Carol and Milla whilst Natalya adopted a battle-ready stance, her legs apart and balancing on the balls of her feet. Memphis picked himself up, amazed he'd been hit like that, and he turned to see a sight he hadn't been expecting. But rather than shock, his reaction was one of amusement. His slimy lips curled into a smile and he chuckled softly.

"Well, well, well...if it isn't my old flame..." he purred, "Come crawling back have you Natalya? I had no idea you missed me so much."

"Oh I've missed you alright...missed the fact I didn't have to worry about you anymore!" the she-dragon snarled, "You just can't leave me alone can you, you villainous, low-life, baneful excuse for a dragon?! After six years of never seeing you again, you show up to ruin my life again by getting my best friend's daughter exiled!"

"Why do you care about my stupid niece?" Memphis snorted, "I heard you tried to force her back into the Red Scarves and tried to kill her. Also, wasn't it YOU who caused her to destroy part of Shang Mu with the Dark Stone? Yes...I know about that. Why do you even remotely care what I did to Lilac? You should be worshiping me for getting rid of her."

"What I did to Lilac was a mistake! Just like everything else I did after you murdered Dawn!" Natalya growled, her fists shaking with rage, "You ruined my life for six whole years Memphis! SIX YEARS! You made me the villainess I became thanks to the murder of Dawn and Stephen! You drove me insane and I went off the deep end because of you! But thanks to Lilac, I've seen the light and I want to redeem myself for what I've done! I've even started my life anew...as her foster mother!"

Memphis stared at his ex-girlfriend as if she'd said something crazy.

"Foster mother...oh no...don't tell me you ADOPTED her!" he sighed disbelievingly.

"I did! I'm her new mother now after you selfishly took my best friend away!" yelled Natalya, "And now my adopted daughter's probably starving to death in the wilderness somewhere...all because of you! You've ruined my life already Memphis, you won't ruin it anymore!"

"You seriously think you have a chance against me?" sneered Memphis, "I taught you everything you know and you could never beat me. Even Lilac got the best of you last Christmas. If you can't beat a sixteen year old girl then what chance do you have against me?"

"Everything...since I know your every move! Your every move that you taught me..." the former villainess snarled.

Roaring savagely, Natalya threw herself at Memphis with her claws bared and ready to cut him to pieces. Memphis smiled confidently, knowing that his former love interest had no chance against him. It was very rare for the student to best the teacher and he would show Natalya why that was. The dragon leaned back on the bed and swung his legs up just as Natalya came within reach. The dragon cried out as her ex-boyfriend's booted feet connected sharply with her jaw. She staggered backwards, wincing in pain. Memphis lowered himself down and before Natalya could recover, he lashed out and punched her in the chest. The chest was always a dangerous place to be punched and he knew it. Natalya cried out, feeling as if her sternum had been smashed to pieces, and she gasped for breath. Memphis then used his tendril to slap Natalya across the face and then strangle her. But the she-dragon knew how to deal with that. Memphis had even taught her how to break out of it. As the tendril throttled her, Natalya pulled on it, yanking Memphis's head to one side and causing him to lean sideways. Then Natalya kicked him in the back of the legs, bringing the fire dragon down onto his knees. The tendril let her go and the reformed Avalician wasted no time in landing another blow on Memphis. She roundhouse punched him in the head, momentarily distorting him and then she yanked him onto his feet. The dragon tried to break free but Natalya held a firm grip on him. The mauve-skinned dragon kicked Memphis hard in the small of his back, throwing him into the bedpost. The red-skinned dragon crashed into the bed post and was sent spinning down onto the bed, wincing in pain as his face flared up. Natalya then pinned Memphis down onto the bed, trying to slice his throat open with her claws. She was very close but Memphis held her hands firmly away from his neck. He sneered at her.

"I didn't think you'd be so keen to get into bed with me." he crooned.

"Save it Memphis!" Natalya snarled, "I'm going to slit your throat and let you bleed to death and then I'm going to find Lilac and bring her back home safe and sound!"

"Can you do that with your eyes burnt?"

Natalya cursed herself in her mind as she threw herself backwards in time to dodge a breath of flames that Memphis spewed out at her. She knew he was a fire dragon! She shouldn't get so close to his face or she'd be burnt alive! As Natalya backed away to avoid the flames, Memphis picked himself up and spat out spears of fire at the dragon. The former crime boss just spun around on her toes and swatted the flames away with her tendril. The moment she stopped spinning though, Memphis Dragon-Boosted straight into her, leaving a holographic trail of fire behind him as he rocketed into her. Natalya had been taught everything Memphis knew, even the Dragon-Boost. She should have expected him to use it on her. The mauve-scaled reptile was thrown backwards into the wardrobe by Memphis and as she crashed into it, it fell over and landed with a heavy smash onto the floor behind her. Cracks appeared in the wood and splinters flew everywhere. Zao wouldn't be pleased to see this once he got his title back. Natalya picked herself up, grimacing in pain just as Memphis ran into her and walloped her with his tendril. She recovered quickly though and walloped him with her own tendril. Memphis held his pain but not for long as Natalya punched him in the gut and made him double over in pain. Then she slammed her elbow down on Memphis's head, throwing him down onto his hands and knees. Natalya then tried to stomp on his head but Memphis rolled out of her way and headed towards one of the mirrors on the wall. He grabbed it and as his ex-girlfriend came at him with death in her eyes and her claws bared, he slammed the mirror down onto her head, breaking it and getting the frame stuck around her neck. Natalya tried to get it off but Memphis grabbed the mirror frame and yanked her down onto the floor. As she landed, the mirror frame jerked back into her Adam's apple as it hit the floor. Natalya gagged and pulled the frame off of herself before it could choke her to death. Memphis lunged towards her only for Natalya to pick herself up and slam the mirror frame into his head. The frame was solid and Memphis's head was spinning from the blow. The impact also destroyed the frame, reducing it to pieces of sculpture. Memphis reeled backwards, wondering what had just hit him. His head was throbbing and he wondered if the pain would make him pass out.

Natalya charged towards him and slashed him across the face with her claws. Memphis bellowed in rage and he clawed at her back, catching her between the eyes. Natalya wasn't hurt by the attack but the next attack was much more painful. Memphis breathed a quick jet of flames into her face, catching the she-dragon and making her screech in agony. The flames hadn't touched her enough to burn her but they had hurt her very badly. Faint pink marks appeared where the flames had licked her face. Natalya rubbed herself better, giving Memphis chance to drive his knee straight into her gut. The dragon cried out, spluttering as the wind was knocked out of her. But Natalya wasn't down for long. Before Memphis could elbow her on the head, she reached out and pinched him on the ribs. She knew that the ribs were a sensitive area on her opponent and she wasted no time in exploiting that weakness. Memphis jumped instinctively, giving Natalya chance to uppercut him in the head and send him reeling backwards. Despite being a woman who had been tutored by him, Memphis couldn't deny that Natalya had definitely been sticking to her training. She was as strong as he was now. Would Lilac be able to beat him in a fight if she could beat Natalya? Perhaps, all the better that he'd gotten her exiled. But how could he beat Natalya if she was on par with him? The conquest-seeking villain glared at his opponent as she prepared to finish him off. Timothy had watched the fight with glee, pleased to see Memphis getting beaten up. Hopefully Natalya would finish him off and he could be the man he once was again, a dragon lover with no dragon forcing him to help him conquer Avalice. He was also pleased to see the rumours on Natalya being good were true. This couldn't be an act, she was definitely a changed woman now. He had been surprised to hear that she and Memphis were ex-lovers and that Lilac's parents were her best friends and she'd adopted Lilac. He'd make sure to apologize to her for everything once this was over.

"See? I'm as good as you are Memphis. You can't stop me...especially since I have friends to help me if I need it." Natalya growled, "So stand down and face justice...or have a more grisly death! Your choice!"

"Do you really think I executed this plan to exile Lilac just to give it all up now you stupid witch?" snorted Memphis, "I wouldn't give up even if Shang Tu's entire army came after me! So either shut up and fight or..."

Then suddenly, before he could finish his sentence, a blue boomerang scythed through the air and hit Memphis. The moment he was hit, he was suddenly encased in a block of ice. This surprised Natalya, Carol and the hounds. How had that happened? They quickly found out as they turned around and saw Neera Li standing before them, flipping her hair aside smugly as she admired her handiwork.

"Avalice's biggest criminal...encased in ice and ready to be put in a cell." the panda sneered, "His reign of terror is over."

"Neera!" Carol exclaimed, "I never thought I'd be pleased to see you! Great timing!"

"How did you get here? What are you doing here?" asked Milla.

"I was sent here by The Magister to take out Memphis and arrest him." the priestess explained, "I sneaked in here through the drainage tunnels. I'm not surprised to see you five here by the way. Being Lilac's friends and all, it makes perfect sense for you to want to avenge her."

"You bet!" Carol declared, "And now we can get Memphis locked up and bring Lilac back home!"

"Already taken care of." Neera said with a wink, "Gong's gone to find her. He'll bring her home safely."

"Oh thank goodness." Lela said delightedly, "The day's looking up for us it seems. Memphis is subdued and Lilac's going to be brought home."

"I'm afraid it won't be as simple as that..." Natalya murmured, "Neera, you need to learn one compulsory fact about Memphis..."

"What's that then?" Neera asked.

"He's a FIRE dragon!" the reformed villainess screamed.

Right on cue, the ice around Memphis suddenly melted into a puddle of water that stained the carpet and Memphis was now free to attack once again. He glared at his opponents, steam pouring out of his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. Being a fire dragon, he was able to heat up his body to extreme temperatures. He was incapable of ever being cold because of this feature. Ice was no prison that could hold him. Now free, Memphis picked up his energy conductor and he pressed a button on it. The he held the glowing, purple tip to his left cheek and smiled confidently at his intruders.

"Alright ingrates, I've played about long enough." he announced, "Now stand down and face arrest...or I pump myself full of Dark Stone Energy! Once I release this button, I will spray myself with the energy inside and make myself a destruction craving monster. Do you want Lilac to come home to a bunch of ruins and dead bodies? No? Then don't make me release this button..."

The Avalicians stared at him helplessly. Memphis now held all the cards in this battle. How could they stop him now? They couldn't knock him down or he'd release the button and spray himself, or worse, either of them with Dark Stone Energy! But they couldn't surrender to him either...not while they were so close to stopping him...

* * *

 _ **Well that went well...so how will our heroes stop Memphis now? And will Gong bring Lilac home in time to stop her wicked uncle? Find out next time as Lilac returns home at last...**_


	5. Chapter 5: Going Back

_Chapter 5: Coming Back_

The Avalicians that stood before the conqueror of Shang Mu knew a tough situation when they faced one. They'd faced many tough situations before and this one was no exception. And to think they'd planned this whole operation so carefully too! They'd sneaked into Shang Mu completely unnoticed and now it looked like they were going to take down Memphis, the dragon had picked up his energy conductor and was now threatening to spray Dark Stone Energy all over himself. He held the cane near his face with a button pressed in. If he released the button, the energy conductor would release its contents all over him and turn him into a Dark Stone Dragon. He knew that would be the case, he was full of negative emotions from head to toe. The energy would feast upon them like a swarm of piranhas. Natalya knew this too, having seen the effects of the Dark Stone on poor Lilac three weeks ago. And it had affected her after she and Brevon had caused her to snap. With Memphis, he hardly needed the extra shove that Lilac had received. She, Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Neera Li all stared at the dragon, wondering what they could do to stop him now. Even Timothy was secretly weighing up options and wondering if he could stop Memphis but being old and frail, he wasn't sure if he'd have any success. The dragon, cat, hounds and panda would be likelier to succeed what with being younger and stronger. And yet even they didn't seem to know what to do. One wrong move and they'd end up causing the destruction of the world.

"Memphis…please, don't do this." Natalya begged, "Do you have any idea on what you'll do to Avalice if you become a Dark Stone Dragon? You'll destroy it! Is this what you want?!"

"Well if I can't have Avalice then nobody can." Memphis snorted, "But I know for starters you don't want me to go the extra mile my sweet Natalya. After all…you want your adopted daughter back don't you? If so then do as I command and I won't give myself an excuse to destroy the planet."

"You're despicable!" Carol shouted, her eyes brimming with angry tears, "You're rotten and you're gonna pay for everything you've done! Exiling my best friend, ruining Natalya's life and taking over Shang Mu! You're gonna pay!"

"Don't bore me with your lectures." the red-dragon sighed, "I'm beginning to get tired of them. In fact, my thumb's getting tired too. Should I rest it for a while?"

"NO!" squealed Neera, "No don't! Please! We don't want our world destroyed!"

"Then do as I command and I won't release the button." Memphis demanded, "This is your FINAL warning. Exploit it and I release the button. Am I in anyway…unclear?"

The six Avalicians all stared at Memphis, itching to have a go at him but not wanting to risk getting themselves sprayed by the Dark Stone's Energy by accident, as well as not wanting to risk Memphis spraying himself in the struggle. They knew how serious the energy was. Just a small dose of it had been enough to corrupt Lilac of all people and turn her evil, the very thing that had forced the royals of Avalice to exile her. Who knew what it could do to either of them? They were all full of negative emotions right now. Anger and fear mostly. Anger at Memphis and his takeover of Shang Mu and fear for Lilac's safety and the world around them. Those emotions would be enough to make them prey for the evil stone's vile energy. They couldn't risk it. Like it or not, they had to surrender. It was better to try again when Memphis didn't hold all the cards than risk it all now and do more harm than good. Sighing, Natalya knelt down on the floor with her hands behind her head. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Neera all did the same.

"You win. We surrender…" Natalya growled.

"Thank you very much my dear." Memphis sneered.

But then suddenly, he released the button on his energy conductor! The six Avalicians saw this and shrieked with terror, expecting Memphis to begin his transformation any moment now. But nothing happened! Not even a wisp of energy had seeped out of the energy conductor! This confused the surrendering Avalicians. What was going on? Why was nothing happening? Then they realized what it was.

"Nothing's happened!" Milla cried.

"You tricked us!" Carol shouted angrily, "You sneaky little toe rag! You tricked us!"

"I know, thank you for stating the obvious." Memphis purred sarcastically, "I cannot believe you all fell for that. No, I actually pressed the absorb button on my energy conductor. Because there was nothing to absorb of course, nothing happened. The spray button would have released it immediately; regardless of if I held it in or not. It was the perfect trick to get you all to stand down."

"You've made a grave mistake Memphis!" Natalya growled, "Now we don't need to surrender to you!"

"Really now?" the villainous dragon sneered, "I wouldn't try going back on your surrender lest I be forced to spray YOU with Dark Stone Energy my love. Besides…I believe my backup has arrived."

Surely enough, the bedroom received some more visitors to join the people already in it. The Red Scarves who were on guard duty in the palace had heard the commotion going on in the bedroom and they had finally decided to come up and see what was going on. To their surprise, they saw three former Red Scarves, Carol and the Basset parents, Milla, Neera and their former leader Natalya herself. Yet the six were on their knees before Memphis as if in surrender. Maybe they were in surrender. This was fortuitous for them, especially since Natalya seemed to have surrendered too. The ninjas hoped that Memphis wouldn't punish them for the fact these six had been allowed to get into the palace. They surrounded the six Avalicians and got out ropes and gags for them all.

"Tie them up and escort them all to the dungeon." Memphis ordered, "They can share a cell with that bumbling idiot Zao."

"What do you intend to do with them?" asked Timothy curiously.

"I have questions for Neera Li." the dragon announced, "And after she's talked, I'm going to arrange a little something that these six intruders and anarchists deserve…"

That line made the group and Timothy shudder uncomfortably. They all had a feeling they knew what Memphis meant by what he'd said. Keeping his cane pointed at the Avalicians in case they tried anything at this stage, Memphis watched as the Red Scarves closed in on them and prepared to tie them up. Natalya was itching to resist and take Memphis out here and now but it was much too risky. She could get sprayed by Dark Stone Energy if she made a move and she knew that Memphis's reflexes were beyond normal. He'd be ready for her before she even got to her feet. So reluctantly, she allowed her former disciples to bind her hands behind her back and wrap a rope around her upperbody, keeping her arms fixed to her sides. The Red Scarves did the same to Carol, the Basset family and Neera. Then the Red Scarves forced them onto their feet and hauled them out of the bedroom with Memphis following. If he hadn't decided to come, Natalya could have broken free and escaped but with Memphis watching her, the dragon knew that she'd never get a chance. Memphis would spray her before she even wrestled out of the Red Scarves's grip. So she and the rest of the team could only allow themselves to be taken away and locked up with the former Mayor Zao in the Shang Mu dungeons. Neera was silently praying to herself, the hounds weren't sure if they should start crying or not, Carol was defiant and Natalya only had one thought on her mind.

 _My sweet little Lilac...I hope you'll come home to us and put an end to this nightmare..._

* * *

Lilac herself was having a considerably nicer time than her friends were. The rain had finally stopped and now she was full of food and much stronger and fitter, she and Clifford had gone outside the cave to enjoy the scenery around them. The old sage had taken Lilac down to the huge lake at the bottom of the mountain. The lake was a huge circle with a ring of grass surrounding the outside of it. To Lilac, it looked as if somebody had carved a huge chunk of grassland out of the earth and then used an enormous bucket of water to fill it up. It was a beautiful looking body of water and Lilac felt happy to be standing near it. She loved water what with being a water dragon and she wondered if she and Clifford were going to go swimming in it. The wizard feline had politely told her that the lake wasn't for swimming in and that he himself couldn't swim even if it was. He had taken the dragon to the lake to meditate. He had sat down near the lake and closed his eyes with his hands together as if in a prayer. His staff lay down between him and Lilac. Lilac sat down and watched him meditate. He had told her that meditation helped him deal with his sentence and put him at peace with the world around him. The teen-dragon liked the sound of that so she had wanted to try it too. At first, she was watching Clifford as he hummed softly to himself and slowly levitated off the ground. He looked as if he was sitting on an invisible chair. Lilac watched, spellbound by Clifford as he floated above the spot he'd been sitting on. Being magical, it made sense for him to do this but it was still amazing to watch. It got more amazing as the aged, magical cat suddenly floated away from where he'd been sitting and hovered directly over the lake. It was as if he was being carried by an invisible floating hand underneath him. The dragon's jaw dropped. She'd never seen anything so amazing in her life. She was a little worried though, wondering if Clifford would end up falling straight into the water. But the cat hung suspended above the water, still in a sitting position and not moving an inch. He was totally at peace and looking very relaxed and confident. Lilac found herself admiring the man. She'd never seen anybody look so at peace before and it was very pleasant to look at. For the first time in a whole week, she'd was happy she'd been exiled. She never would have witnessed this amazing meditation session now. Good things were able to come out of bad things after all.

Clifford hung above the water for a few minutes before suddenly lowering his arms and gently stroking the water underneath him with his fingertips. The ripples that spread out from his delicate touch reached out for the bank in huge rings and touched the surface. Then Clifford slowly and steadily hovered back over to his sitting position on the bank. He sat back down and opened his eyes, his first sight upon opening them being an awestruck Lilac.

"When you're at peace my child, you can do many wonders." he said with a smile.

"That was incredible!" Lilac gasped, "How did you do it?!"

"Magic of course." Clifford chuckled, "But it takes more than a little magic to do what I did. You need to balance it out with positive emotions and a calm, relaxed demeanour. When you have power like mine, it's vital to have those traits Lilac."

"I bet it is." the dragon agreed, "So please Clifford, tell me...when did you learn magic? How did you become a wizard? Wizards aren't very common as you probably know."

The old wildcat nodded, looking a little sad as if the fact wasn't very comforting to him. Lilac assumed it was because he was unusual due to the fact wizards were rare and he wanted wizards to be considered usual instead.

"That is indeed very true my dear." he replied, "Wizards are rare because it's not a very commonly practiced art; the art of magic. I was lucky to have ever learnt magic myself. You see, my wife was a witch and she taught me everything I knew. Taught me spells and magical attacks for self-defence and everything. The wildcat family has had a history of having at least one wizard or witch per generation. Because people often fear magic and witchcraft though, very few people ever learn magic in fear of being discriminated and maybe even hunted down and killed. That has happened many times in the past. The wildcat family is learning less and less magic generation by generation, hoping not to end up like those unfortunate wizards and witches. When I die, that'll be it. No more wizards or witches in the wildcat family...I'm literally the last wizard in the family..."

Lilac nodded sadly, understanding why Clifford felt sad to be saying all of this. He clearly loved being a wizard and he wanted his family to keep the tradition alive. But it was dying out and his family would never have magic at their fingertips again, and all because of discrimination and bigotry.

"Did you wanna teach Carol magic?" she asked.

"Not just my granddaughter, I wanted to teach my daughter magic too." explained Clifford, "My daughter was Amanda the Wildcat, Carol's mother. She was a very bright and strong-willed girl. Carol's tomboy attitude and passion for thrills came from her. But Amanda didn't want to learn magic. She didn't want Carol to learn it either. It really broke my heart to hear this from her but I didn't blame her. Unless magical beings get a better reputation, it's best that we don't subject Carol to prejudice and bias."

"I agree." murmured Lilac, "Though Carol with magic powers would be awesome. Carol told me she lost her parents by the way. Is this true?"

"Oh yes." the wizard said, "Her father, Edwyn the Cat, was killed by a runaway truck and Amanda...she disappeared. My own daughter vanished into thin air. She's not dead though. Part of my magic allows me to feel connections between my loved ones. I can feel Amanda now and I know she's alive...but she's lost somewhere and I have no idea where."

"I'm so sorry to hear this..." the dragon said sympathetically, "And Carol must have been devastated when her dad died and her mom went missing..."

"She was my child..." Clifford said softly, "But she's moved on from the tragedy and she seems very happy with you. Pity you're stuck here with me though...she must be struggling to cope with your absence."

This thought made Lilac suddenly break down into tears. The dragon lowered her face into her hands and she wept into them. She hadn't really though about how much her friends must be missing her for she'd been very focused on Clifford and thinking about him and his personal life. Now Clifford had dropped the suggestion, she suddenly imagined Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Natalya in a morbid state and missing her greatly. Their tear-soaked faces were a depressing image for the dragon to imagine. Clifford walked over to Lilac and hugged her tenderly.

"Oh please don't cry Lilac..." he said softly, "Crying doesn't solve anybody's problems and I'm sure your friends wouldn't want to see you like this."

"I'm sorry Clifford...but...but now you just mentioned it...it's really upsetting for me to think that my friends are really missing me!" Lilac wailed, "Oh I wish I could see them again! I miss them so much!"

She continued to weep, leaving Clifford to stroke her tendrils softly to try and comfort her. But then the wizard suddenly had an idea. Lilac couldn't be with her friends, but she could still see them and see how they were doing.

"My child...if you want, I have a way you can see your friends." he said gently.

"R-really?" Lilac asked, wiping away her tears.

"Indeed." Clifford said warmly, "You see, this lake isn't just for meditation purposes. I can use it to see how the world beyond this forest and mountains is doing. With just a wave of my staff, the lake will show you whatever you want to see. I'm sorry to say I cannot simply send you back to your friends but it's better than never seeing them again. You'll be able to see how they're doing without you."

Lilac looked a little disappointed. It was clear that she was expecting Clifford to chant some kind of spell that would warp her back to her treehouse so she could let her friends know how she was or at the very least, create some kind of portal that would allow her to communicate with her friends. Still, it was better than nothing. She wouldn't be ungrateful about it to Clifford.

"That's great." she said dully, "Thank you."

"Welcome." Clifford replied, "Take my staff and tell it what you want to see. Then dip it down into the water and it'll show you want to see."

"Don't I need to be a witch?" asked Lilac curiously.

"No, this kind of spell will work for anybody holding my staff." the wizard replied, "Trust me, it will."

Lilac nodded. At this point, she trusted Clifford with her life. He was the one making her life in exile less lonely and unbearable after all. The dragon strode over to Clifford's staff and picked it up. Then she walked over to the lake and looked at the staff as if wondering if it would give her some kind of magical blessing. The wizard stood by and watched as Lilac prepared to use it. The dragon cleared her throat and spoke.

"I'd like to see my friends, please." she requested.

Then Lilac lowered the staff into the water, just as she'd been instructed to. The moment the staff dipped down into the water, a huge flash suddenly emitted out of the lake as if a giant light had been switched on underwater. Lilac closed her eyes but it barely did her any good, it was still very bright. Clifford somehow was able to stare at the flash without any signs of it harming his eyes. The flash soon died down and the water's reflection of the sky above changed into an image. Lilac opened her eyes, still holding the staff in the water, and she stared at the lake. To her delight, it had worked. There was an image of her friends now showing before her in the water. It was as if she'd transformed the whole lake into a window to the world beyond this territory. Clifford's staff was very magical indeed. But Lilac saw an image she hadn't been expecting to see. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Natalya were all together as expected, but they weren't in the treehouse. They weren't even free. They were chained up in a dark cell and struggling to get free. To Lilac's horror, Neera Li was also locked up and it got more surprising as she saw that Mayor Zao was in the cell too! The dragon stared in disbelief at what she was looking at. Her friends were prisoners! And so was Zao! What was going on?! Why was this happening?! Lilac wanted to find out desperately what was happening. She took the staff out of the water, still shocked at what she'd seen. The image in the water disappeared once the staff had been removed.

"Oh no…my friends…they're in chains! They've been locked up and taken prisoner!" she exclaimed, "Carol, Milla, Mr. and Mrs. Basset and Natalya! They're all imprisoned! Even Neera and Mayor Zao have been imprisoned!"

"My granddaughter!" Clifford cried in shock, "My poor, poor granddaughter! Who's done this to her?!"

"I don't know…" Lilac murmured, "But I'm gonna find out! Exile or no exile, I'm going back and rescuing them!"

"Lilac, you're insane!" Clifford shrieked, "You can't go back! What if you get caught?! You'll be arrested and locked up for life!"

"To hell with that!" the dragon snapped, "I don't care what the consequences will be! I'm going to save my friends and nobody is gonna stop me!"

"Please Lilac, don't get yourself into more trouble!" the wizard begged.

"Why would I? Mayor Zao's been locked up too and he was one of the ones who was convinced I was evil." Lilac noted, "Why would he be locked up? It's simple. The guy who framed me has obviously revealed him or herself and has captured my friends and locked them up. And since Zao's locked, maybe he's realized the truth at last and is locked up because of it!"

Clifford was about to argue some more but he stopped and considered for a moment. It was true, Lilac did indeed have a point. Maybe this was a sign that the person who had gotten her exiled had revealed him or herself and if this was the case, why would Lilac be in any trouble by coming back? The world would know she was innocent so her exile would be overturned and when she came home, she'd be welcomed back with open arms. There was nothing to worry about after all.

"Hmm, you do raise an excellent point there." he mused, "This could be your chance to get accepted back into the kingdoms. But...but then I'll be lonely again..."

"Then come with me!" Lilac cried, "You could try and help me stop whatever it is that's going on and people will want you back! You can fix your reputation too!"

"I'm sorry my child...but there's no hope for me." Clifford said sadly, "I'll never be accepted again, especially as many people are afraid of wizards and witches. Besides, I can't violate my sentence. I wouldn't be able to survive a life in prison."

"But..."

"Please...don't. I can't come...I'm sorry Lilac but...I can't."

The dragon could tell that the old wizard was being serious. He may miss his granddaughter very much but he was clearly convinced that he could never belong in society again and that he had to live his life sentence to the max for there was nothing else for him. Sadly, Lilac walked up to Clifford and put her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry you feel this way." she said, "But you won't have to be lonely anymore. I'll visit you whenever I can, maybe even take Carol to see you some days. You may not think you belong in society again but at least you won't be alone all the time."

"I'd like that very much little dragon." Clifford said kindly, "Good luck out there Lilac...and may the ancient dragon be on your side."

"Thank you so much sir." Lilac said, "And thank you for your kindness and hospitality. I'll see you again soon Clifford. I promise."

"I look forward to it." the old cat said softly.

He and Lilac then embraced each other. As they hugged, the two Avalicians wondered how long it would be before they saw each other again. Lilac would make sure it was sooner than a single day. She didn't want him to be on his own for too long. After they broke up their hug, Lilac waved goodbye to Clifford and turned on her heels. She ran off, Dragon-Boosting away into the distance in a train of sparkles and heading off to the place she had been exiled from...one of the three kingdoms of Avalice. It felt strange to be going back after a week of living in the wilds. Well Lilac wouldn't be returning to it since it was obvious to her that her innocence had been proven and she'd be welcomed back with open arms from everybody, especially since she was going to be saving them from danger once again. At this point, Lilac no longer cared if the people deserved it or not. They had been played for idiots, she'd known that from the start, and they didn't deserve to suffer from their idiocy. She was going to save Shang Mu from whoever it was that had kidnapped her friends and the mayor and then she would announce to everybody that she held no ill will towards them for getting her exiled. As the dragon disappeared over the horizon, Clifford looked away sadly.

"Please be safe...poor Carol would be devastated if you got killed Lilac..." he said to himself.

With nothing left to do, the wizard picked up his staff and levitated back up into his cave home...

* * *

Back over in Shang Mu, the imprisoned Avalicians were trying their hardest to break free of their chains. After being escorted to the dungeon by the Red Scarves, all six of them had been shackled to the wall by shackles that hung above their heads and held their arms aloft and now they'd been left behind to possibly wonder what fate Memphis had in store for them. Natalya, who had been stripped off of her trenchcoat and was now showing off her black vest underneath, felt nothing more than humiliation. It was embarrassing to think that she of all people had been caught and locked up like this. She'd never been caught before in her life! And yet here she was, struggling to break free of her chains. To her surprise and annoyance, they held firm no matter how hard she pulled. It was clear that the chains were very strong, perhaps strong enough to hold Memphis if he was locked up in here too. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Neera were struggling too but they had no chance of escape. If Natalya couldn't break free then nobody could. They eventually gave up and sighed in annoyance. The dethroned Mayor Zao looked at them sadly from where he was standing, chained to the wall as they were. It was all his fault that they were in this situation. He'd believed Lilac was evil. He'd agreed to exile her and now her friends were suffering from his wrong-doings. Zao had never felt so down in all his life. He felt regret and despair and he hoped that if he ever got out, he'd be able to fix his mistake.

"Oh great! We're locked up like wild animals!" Carol sighed, "And all because of stupid Memphis tricking us!"

"I'm really scared! What's he gonna do to us?" whimpered Milla, "Is he going to torture us?"

"Unlikely little Milla..." Natalya sighed, resting her head against her arm glumly, "Memphis only ever tortures people if he wants information. When he captures somebody, it's either an attempt to seduce or corrupt them...or to kill them."

"So you think he's going to...to...kill us?!" shrieked Lela, "He can't do that! That's beastly! And besides, executions aren't allowed anymore!"

"He's Mayor of Shang Mu now. He can do what he likes." Zao muttered, "He can make executions legal and he'll be allowed to get away with it because he's mayor."

"So we're pretty much dead then..." grumbled Carol, "Oh what a way to go this is...chained in a dark dungeon and possibly awaiting executions. And it's all your fault Zao!"

The red panda did not attempt to refute the wildcat. He allowed her to pin the blame squarely on his shoulders for she was right. It was all his fault this had happened.

"If you hadn't have believed Lilac used the Dark Stone on purpose and gone bad, you wouldn't have caused the other kingdoms to doubt her and then Memphis's bright idea to frame Lilac and trick you and the others into exiling her wouldn't have worked!" the cat screamed angrily, "You've killed us all Mayor Dumbass and I damn well hope you're happy about it!"

"No...no I'm not..." Zao said glumly, "In fact, I regret being the cause of all of this...I wish I hadn't been so stupid and short-sighted. I wish I'd believed Lilac three weeks ago. If I had, then none of this would have happened..."

 **5+ SORRY**

"Well it's too damn late for sorry Zao!" Carol snapped, "Lilac's in exile so she can't help us and we're all waiting to be executed if that's what Memphis wants to do to us! I'll never forgive you for this you shrimp-sized, egotistical nutcase!"

Zao looked down at the floor sadly, understanding why Carol was being so bitter towards him. He supposed he deserved it. After all, he'd unwittingly helped an evil tyrant take over his kingdom and make demands for the other two kingdoms to merge with Shang Mu so he could rule over all of them. He would happily end his life without Carol's forgiveness at this point. Ignoring Zao, Carol looked over to Natalya.

"So any ideas how to get outta this mess Natalya?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not." the dragon murmured, "These chains are too strong for me. I think I recognize the type. Are these Chromazon Steel Shackles by any chance Zao?" she asked, glancing over at the mayor.

"Oh yes, the strongest steel in the world." explained Zao, "I purchased these shackles to hold super strong prisoners. These shackles could hold even the strongest dragon in the world. That's their purpose, to be unbreakable and hold the strongest of people. I didn't think these would end up being used against us..."

"Well this is unfortunate for us." Miguel sighed, "We're never going to get out of here..."

"Are we going to die?" Milla sobbed, her eyes streaming with tears.

"Unless my dear Lilac comes to save us, I'm afraid we are..." Natalya sighed in defeat, "I'm sorry my friends...but we're finished...we're all finished..."

"And to think Lilac will never know about this..." Carol sighed, her eyes brimming with tears as she accepted defeat.

"And I've only just reformed..." the former villainess sighed, "I'll be sure to say hi to Dawn for Lilac when our time comes..."

The thought of being reunited with Dawn was the only comforting thought that Natalya could think of at the moment. Although Dawn wouldn't be too happy if she ended up joining her in the afterlife because of Memphis. If only she hadn't fallen for his trick and gotten captured! She could have beaten him and stopped all of this! The dragon was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as the dungeon door swung open and Memphis strode inside. He strode in his usual arrogant, confident manner. It was the kind of stride that a man who has all the time in the world to do what he wants and enjoy every minute of it would do. In the fire dragon's case, he did have all the time in the world to do what he wanted. Being Mayor of Shang Mu now, time was on his side. The imprisoned Avalicians all glowered at Memphis as he entered the room. If they weren't chained up right now, they'd be beating him to a pulp. Carol in particular looked as if she wanted to plunge her hand into the man's chest and rip out his heart. The dragon ignored their angered faces and grinned at them. When Memphis smiled, he somehow looked more sinister than when he was angry. It was a smile that could bring chills to the spine of a tiger.

"Comfortable my prisoners?" he purred.

"Let us outta these shackles and maybe we will be!" Carol spat.

"Oh, that's too bad." Memphis sighed, ignoring Carol and striding up to Natalya.

The she-dragon pressed herself against the wall as her ex-boyfriend approached her. She was helpless and standing before him, unable to do anything as he came close. She'd never been so vulnerable and it was a feeling she didn't like. In this position, Memphis could do what he liked to her and she wouldn't be able to stop him due to her hands being locked above her head. The dragon stood in front of Natalya and then reached out and touched her cheek with his gloved hand. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Neera all cringed in disgust, imagining how horrible it must feel to have your best friend's killer touching your face like that. Zao just stared incredulously at the two dragons. He didn't know they had once been partners so this was surprising to him.

"You know Natalya, it's a shame I have to lock up a beautiful woman such as yourself." Memphis purred, "And despite not seeing you for six years, you're still very, very beautiful. And also very strong too, you gave me a good fight earlier."

"Get your damn hands off of me!" Natalya snarled, kicking Memphis directly in the gut to make him back off.

Memphis spluttered as the wind was knocked out of him and he backed away. He cursed himself for not having shackles to bind her feet to the wall as well. Why Zao thought the hands were the only parts that needed chaining he would never know. The fire dragon regained his composure and he coughed briefly.

"Still defiant are we?" he crooned, "Let's see how feisty you are when you spend a few days in chains Natalya. It is said that days in prison can break even the sanest of men."

"Fie, I spent two weeks locked up in Shang Tu and I'm still sane!" the former villainess retorted, "Keep me here as long as you like! I'll never submit to you! Not after what you did to my best friend and my adopted daughter!"

"You're still not over the fact I killed Dawn?" Memphis sniffed, "Natalya my dear, you really need to learn to let it go already. Keeping a firm grip on the past will only tear you apart."

"I will NEVER let it go!" Natalya growled, "Not unless I see you dead and on the way to hell where you belong! With you gone, only then will I finally let it go!"

"Then enjoy being a fiery wreck all your life because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." the criminal reptile gloated, "I'm only thirty-six years old, I've got plenty of life left in me."

"That life might end sooner than you think…" the mauve-skinned dragon warned, "If Lilac decides to ignore her sentence and come home, you better hope she's feeling merciful…she did kill Lord Brevon himself after all and he was a bigger monster than even you!"

Memphis narrowed his eyes at Natalya as if what she'd just said had offended him. But he said nothing. It seemed he didn't want to give Natalya the satisfaction of seeing him lose his cool. He turned his nose up and walked away from her. Natalya just smirked, seeing that she'd beaten him in some way. Zao had watched the whole argument and had been amazed at what he'd heard. Natalya had adopted Lilac? And her best friend was a woman named Dawn? He remembered hearing the news when she'd been killed. She was Lilac's mother. He never would have guessed that Natalya had ties with Lilac's family. What must Lilac have thought when she heard about this? It also surprised Zao that Natalya and Memphis seemed to have ties with each other too. Could that explain why she'd been a criminal for a time? And maybe Dawn's death had played a part in her reforming? He'd find out later. He now watched as Memphis strode over to the captive Neera Li. The priestess turned her head away as Memphis approached her.

"Don't you come a step closer!" she warned.

"Why my dear Neera?" the dragon crooned, "You can't do anything to stop me. Besides, I'm the Mayor of Shang Mu. I give the orders around here."

"What do you want with me then?" Li demanded.

"I notice that you're here but for some reason, your oversized friend General Gong isn't with you." Memphis noted, "You two are very rarely apart. Now I want you to tell me why you're here and where General Gong is."

"Go to hell! I'm not telling you anything!" Neera spat.

"Yeah, leave her alone you demon!" Carol shouted.

Memphis ignored Carol and fixed his eyes on Neera as if hoping to hypnotize her with them.

"If you won't tell me Neera then I'll have no choice but to give you a dose of Dark Stone Energy." the dragon warned, his voice as sinister as a ghoul.

He raised his cane up and pointed it at Neera's face. The panda pressed herself as hard as she could against the wall, staring at it in terror. She knew how dangerous the energy was. A small dose had corrupted Lilac and she was one of the most pure and good people in the world. The stone's energy would corrupt her easily. She had a lot of negative emotions in her now and her personality was usually blunt, cold and serious. The evil energy would have a field day with her.

"No! Please, not that!" the priestess begged.

"Then tell me what I want to know my dear holy panda and I won't give in to my itchy trigger finger." Memphis ordered, "Why are you here and where is General Gong. Do NOT attempt to lie to me or else."

"Don't tell him anything!" Milla squealed.

But Neera knew that she had no choice. If she didn't tell Memphis what he wanted to know, he'd turn her evil and chances are, she'd end up telling him anyway. She couldn't let herself be corrupted by this vile and wicked man. It would disgrace her honour and just give Memphis a slave. Sighing, Neera decided to give in.

"Alright…I'll talk." she muttered, "I was sent her to arrest you by The Magister and he sent Gong to find Lilac. It's the truth, I swear on the Ancient Dragon's soul."

Memphis smiled wickedly and lowered the cane.

"I believe you." he purred, "So, Gong's looking for my disgraced niece is he? He may well find her eventually but by the time he does, he'll be too late. I'll be in charge of the entire world by the time he finds Lilac. But just in case he finds her earlier than expected…I think a little surprise is in store for her. As for Shang Tu…I'm very disappointed to hear that The Magister sent you here to arrest me Miss Li. It's clear he doesn't like my demands. So I'm afraid…I'm going to have to punish him. Tonight, I'm going to wipe your kingdom off the map."

"You monster! You can't do that!" Li protested.

"Oh I can, and I WILL." Memphis growled, "And besides, you won't live to see it happen. Because before the Sky Battalion takes flight, there's going to be a public event that'll take place in front of my palace doors. An event that we've not seen in over a hundred years. To put it simply, you'll all end up a few inches shorter when it's over."

That sent shudders up everybody's spines. It was just as Natalya had expected. Memphis was going to have them executed, and he was going to do it in PUBLIC no less! It was just like Memphis to dispose of his captives though why he was going to do it later rather than right now was a mystery to Natalya. He usually did it straight away. Did he want to send some kind of sick message to the world with their public beheadings? Maybe he wanted to make sure that Shuigang wouldn't try anything funny with him and this was his way of showing the kingdom he meant business and wasn't kidding around. Shang Tu on the other hand would be destroyed. A double message with the same meaning: you don't mess with Memphis the Fire Dragon. Satisfied with himself, Memphis turned away from Neera and walked towards the door.

"Enjoy your stay here my friends…you've got until the sunsets to make the most of your useless lives. Even you my dear Natalya…" he crooned.

With that said, the new Mayor of Shang Mu strode out of the dungeon and closed the door, locking it behind him. The moment Memphis had gone, Carol glared at Neera Li.

"Well done Neera! You just had to crack didn't ya?!" she moaned, "Now thanks to you, Lilac will be walking home into a trap when Gong finds her and we can't warn her!"

"I had no choice!" Neera snapped "If Memphis pumped me full of Dark Stone Energy, I probably would have ended up telling him anyway! I'm sorry but as long as Memphis has that energy conductor, he holds all the aces in his hand and we're helpless to stop him!"

"I bet he wouldn't have caught us like this if he didn't have that stupid cane..." Carol grumbled.

"Oh believe me, he'd be done for if he hadn't got that thing on him..." Natalya sighed, "That's Memphis for you, he always makes sure he has a way to stay on top."

"I still wonder how he got that thing!" Zao ranted, "I mean energy conductors are illegal! How can he possibly have it?"

"Memphis is a criminal Zao, he can get anything he wants." Natalya replied, "And he'll do it anyway he can. But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that unless Lilac can save us now...we're all going to die at sunset."

"I don't wanna die!" Milla whimpered.

"Neither of us want to...which is why Lilac has to succeed in getting home safely and getting us outta here..." the mauve-skinned dragon said, "Otherwise...we can say goodbye to our heads."

She looked down at the floor in despair, looking utterly defeated and out of ideas. Carol and Milla shook their heads sadly. They'd never seen their former nemesis look so defeated in their lives. But they knew that they were as defeated as she were. Locked in a dungeon and shackled to the wall with unbreakable chains, they couldn't do anything but pray for a miracle. And that miracle would hopefully be coming home right now...

* * *

It was very late in the afternoon by the time Lilac had reached Shang Mu. When she had left Shang Tu to go into exile last week, she'd never taken in how long it had taken her to get to the Forest of Shards. Now on the way home, she calculated she'd taken at least a few hours. It was lucky for her that she could run so fast. The journey home would have taken days if she'd walked to Shang Mu. The dragon skidded to a halt and stopped to catch her breath. She felt like she'd run about five marathons and somehow had managed to make it to the finishing line each time. She was standing on the outskirts of the kingdom itself, staring at Shang Mu from a field of grass that stopped at the very edges around the cities it contained. Lilac looked up as her panting slowed down. It felt strange to be looking at Shang Mu again. It even felt strange just standing near it. She wasn't supposed to return. She was supposed to be in exile still. And yet here she was, returning back to familiar territory as if her sentence no longer mattered. In a way, her sentence didn't matter anymore. Her friends had been locked up and so had Mayor Zao. It was obvious that Shang Mu would want her back and would drop all charges against her, meaning she wouldn't be sentenced to life in exile anymore. Lilac walked towards Shang Mu, feeling a little nervous. What would happen when she entered the kingdom she'd been exiled from along with Shang Tu and Shuigang? Would there be a tumultuous applause of delight for her? And what would she come across when she tried to save her friends? Would she come across a familiar face or a new enemy? It might have been Timothy Turtle who had done this to her friends. Maybe he'd locked them up so they couldn't try and get her back. But Zao being locked up told a different story. Why would Timothy imprison him? Zao was the first person to accuse her of turning evil! Timothy wouldn't lock up somebody who agreed with him. Unless Zao realized how wrong he was and Timothy had done it to shut him up. But Lilac began to wonder how an old turtle like him could possibly lock up Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Neera Li and Natalya of all people. All of them could have taken him down easily. The dragon swallowed. This had to be some new foe she'd never met before. Or even...somebody she did know.

"Whoever's done this to you my friends, don't worry...I'll save you." Lilac swore, "I'm back. And I'm gonna make whoever imprisoned you sorry they did that..."

Lilac now entered Shang Mu. The place didn't look as lively as it usually did. It looked almost deserted. There were no people around to welcome her back. She was all alone in the red-coloured kingdom. What was going on in this kingdom? What had happened that was so bad that everybody was hiding away in their houses? Lilac found herself becoming more and more nervous. She felt as if she'd come to a ghost town. Albeit a brightly coloured one.

"Hello? Is there anybody here?" Lilac called out, "Hello? Where is everybody?"

She received no answers to her questions. The dragon began to feel increasingly uneasy. Some instinct in the back of her mind was telling her to run for her life and get out of here as quickly as possible. But Lilac ignored the temptation. She had her friends to save and she always put them above herself. They had to be rescued. They'd been captured by some evil-doer and they needed her help. Said evil-doer had also imprisoned the mayor. Saving him would make him regret ever exiling her. He'd be happy to see her and would apologize for doubting her.

"OK...looks like everybody's hiding." the dragon shrugged, "They'll probably come out after I save my friends and the mayor and after I kick the butt of the person who's locked them up! I'll have to be careful though. I have no idea what I'm up against..."

Some wise words from an evil Natalya came back to her as Lilac thought back to a lesson she'd learnt as a Red Scarf. When you don't know who you're up against, it is paramount that you take extra care. Lilac would do just that. She decided to play it stealthily first so she could see who she might be up against and once she knew who it was, she'd make her move. A Dragon Cyclone or two would take him or her out easily. Lilac continued forwards, heading towards Shang Mu Palace. Every sense was on the alert as she roamed through the empty kingdom. Her eyes were searching for any sign of danger, her nose was twitching for a scent that would tell her she had to watch out and her ears were listening out for even the tiniest sound. Lilac wasn't going to let anybody get the drop on her. If she was caught or even killed now, she'd have come home for nothing. Lilac looked all around as she past houses, still keeping an eye out for trouble. Then suddenly, as she got within 30 yards of the palace, something unexpected happened. Three huge robots appeared from behind the palace and hovered towards Lilac! The dragon leapt back in surprise. She knew those robots. She'd had to deal with them when roaming through Shang Mu to retributive the Kingdom Stone last year. The robots were huge spherical machines wearing red samurai helmets and wielding a pair of giant fists that could smash through floors in buildings with ease. They flew in the air with a four-bladed propeller built in their backs and they had one eye. The robots were mostly surveillance drones that were meant for keeping the peace in the kingdom, arresting criminals or keeping an eye on the shopping malls that Shang Mu was famous for. They seemed to be fixed on Lilac and ready to arrest her or even crush her. Had Zao not been imprisoned, Lilac would have assumed he'd sent them to stop her from getting back into the kingdom. But since he was, she knew it wasn't him who sent the robots. His captor obviously did. The captor must not want anybody trying to save her friends and Zao. How unlucky for him that Lilac the Dragon Girl was the one he'd sent the robots to fight. She'd taken them down before and she'd do it again. The brave Avalician adopted a fighting stance, legs apart and her arms poised, ready for a punch.

"Well this wasn't the kind of welcome back I was expecting..." she muttered as the robots hovered close to her, their metallic singular eyes baring down on her.

The first robot flew forward and slammed a heavy, metal fist down on the concrete path. Lilac jumped out of the way, leaving the robot to just slam the ground and leave an imprint of its fist in the path. Then she jumped up into the air and walloped the robot with a Dragon-Cyclone attack. The robot was sent reeling backwards but it was unharmed. Lilac knew the robots were tough and she had to do more than just whip it with her tendrils. She'd have to attack them repeatedly until they broke into pieces. It was how she'd taken them out last year. Lilac landed back on the ground and glared at her mechanical opponents.

"I've been exiled for a whole week and now I've only just come back!" she barked, "I'm not gonna let you stupid robots get rid of me again! I'm staying here until I've rescued my friends and you can't stop me!"

The three robots all charged towards Lilac, ready to flatten her like a pancake with their big bulky fists. But the dragon was ready for them. Her friends's captor had made a big mistake sending robots she had already managed to smash to pieces after her. She'd make easy work out of them. Lilac curled up into a ball and Dragon-Boosted straight into the first robot that had tried to kill her. She hit it squarely in the eye and sent it crashing down into the ground, luckily away from any buildings. The robot was left dazed and confused for a moment as it tried to figure out what had happened. The second robot lashed out with its fist, trying to punch Lilac but the dragon jumped out of the way, leaving it to accidentally punch its comrade in the eye. The punch ended up smashing the robot's eye to pieces, blinding it and causing it to panic for it couldn't see. The second robot turned away from its blind companion and saw Lilac jumping towards it in another Dragon-Cyclone attack. The robot drew its right arm across its face and then backhanded its tiny opponent. Lilac grunted as she was hit and she hit the ground heavily. The dragon winced in pain as she picked herself up just as the third robot came hurling towards her. The dragon screamed and jumped out of the way as it tried to punch her. It punched the spot where she had been standing just moments ago and left a fist-sized hole in the concrete path. Lilac jumped up just as its arm reeled back in and she whipped it with her tendrils, knocking it aside for a moment.

As she fought the robots though, she failed to noticed that her evil uncle was watching her from the balcony of the Royal Palace. Memphis's cold, yellow eyes fixed on his niece, watching intently as the robots he'd set up to stop her should she ever come home tried desperately to smash her to pieces. Lilac maybe back...but she hadn't won by a long shot. He was still on top...and if Lilac beat the robots...he'd just do the job himself and put an end to any threat to his rule...

* * *

Meanwhile, General Gong was roaming through the Forest of Shards in search of Lilac. He had decided to start here first because he knew that most people who went into exile ended up living in the Forest of Shards. He knew this because he'd often hear about Sumirodons polishing off the remains of the victims who had died in their exiled lives and he also recalled hearing some of the sentenced people being told that the Forest of Shards would be a good place to live when exiled. Lilac had to be here. He was riding a jeep which was driven by a duck guard that usually piloted the police vehicles that Shang Tu had when necessary. The forest was too far to walk in a day and he wanted Lilac found fast so he'd decided to come by jeep. A very good idea too for he'd arrived at the forest over an hour ago and had been searching it everywhere since then. He hadn't found any sight of Lilac though he had come across her campsite a few minutes ago. A handmade shelter, a ring of rocks with ashes in the centre and some stolen crates were all he needed to know that Lilac had indeed come here to spend her exiled life.

"We'll keep searching! If there's a campsite here, Lilac can't be too far my friend!" Gong announced, "Drive on!"

"Quack." said the guard.

And now they'd been searching the forest for about thirty more minutes once Gong had collected up the empty food crates that Lilac had stolen and used up last week and the crate of pans she'd also stolen. He understood why Lilac had stolen those crates. He would have done the same if he was in exile himself. After thirty minutes, they still hadn't found any sight of Lilac. They were now entering the open area of the forest that had the huge mountain Clifford was living in and a huge lake at the foot of it. The jeep stopped and Gong peered out from where he was sitting. He observed the whole area, even the lake for any signs of Lilac. He had binoculars with them and he put them to his eyes when he needed to. He couldn't see Lilac anywhere. Not even a single tendril was to be found. Gong began to feel like he was running out of time. The day would be ending soon and Memphis would be waiting for The Magister's response to his demands! If he didn't find Lilac soon, Shang Tu could be destroyed by Zao's own Sky Battalion! He had to find her and fast! The Magister was counting on him.

"Oh where could she be?!" Gong whined, "She must be here! We've gotta keep searching!"

But before the duck guard could start up the jeep again, Gong stopped him and peered through his binoculars up at the mountain. Was it his imagination or was there somebody coming out of it? He thwacked as a robed figure with a staff levitated from inside the cave and came floating towards him. He knew immediately who it was. It was Clifford the Old Sage, another exiled Avalician. He had been there when his sentence had been given five years ago. Maybe he'd seen Lilac? He hoped that was the case for he had to find her and quickly. Clifford landed down on the ground just in front of the jeep and Gong stepped out to greet him. The wildcat looked perplexed to see him.

"Oh...General Gong. This is a surprise." he gasped.

"Greetings Old Sage." Gong said with a bow, "How has your life been since your exile five years ago?"

"Peaceful...but a little lonely." Clifford said, "What are you here for? Has my sentence been lifted or something?"

"Nope...but Lilac's has." Gong announced, "You see, she was sentenced to exile due to the fact the people were convinced she had gone bad and we had no evidence to prove she hadn't. But Memphis the Fire Dragon has returned from hiding and has taken over Shang Mu thanks to his minion Timothy giving him the title after he won an election! Memphis is the one who turned Lilac evil and made her do those bad things! So now we know she's good, she's allowed to come home. But I can't find her anywhere. Have you seen her?"

"Oh Gong...you've just missed her." Clifford said sadly, "She left a couple of hours ago. She had run into me and was going to live with me but after letting her use my staff to see how her friends were doing, she's run off to Shang Mu to save her friends. Apparently, they have been captured, one of them being my granddaughter Carol. I believe your Neera Li has been captured too."

Gong looked shocked to hear all of this. He'd missed Lilac?! She was on her way home to Shang Mu?! Talk about unlucky timing! But what was worse was that Lilac's friends had been captured, obviously by Memphis, and Neera Li had been caught too! Memphis would probably use that as an excuse to attack Shang Tu! Now he had to get home and real fast!

"Thank you for this information Clifford." the panda said, "Now listen, this is important. Memphis has made demands. He wants Shuigang and Shang Tu to merge kingdoms with him. If they don't accept, he's going to use Shang Mu's Sky Battalion to destroy the two kingdoms! Since he's caught Neera Li, he'll probably use that as an excuse to destroy Shang Tu! We have to get home and fast before he can launch the Battalion! Do you want to help me stop Memphis?"

"I wish I could general...but I've been exiled and I must serve my sentence." Clifford murmured, "You must go without me I'm afraid."

"But I might not get there in time! You can give me a speed boost if you come!" the general protested.

"I can, but I can't come with you." the wizard sighed.

"Yes you can!" Gong yelled, "Heck, if you help me stop Memphis, I'll persuade The Magister, Zao and Dail to lift your exile! You can prove to the world that your magic is good at long last and be back with your granddaughter! Would you like that?"

The old wildcat looked taken aback to hear this. Lift his exile if he helps? Prove that he's good? Be back with his granddaughter? These things were the things he'd been looking forward to for five whole years! This was just what he wanted! Clifford was so surprised by this that he began to cry tears of happiness. This was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Oh general...that's perfect for me...I would like that." he said softly, "Thank you so much..."

"Don't mention it." said Gong, "I believe in second chances after all. If Lilac's exile is overturned then yours can be too. Now hop in, we've got no time to lose!"

"Quack." the guard quacked for no real reason.

The panda and wildcat both climbed into the jeep and the guard started it up. Then he turned the jeep around and drove off while Clifford began chanting a spell that would make the jeep speed up. He couldn't teleport them to Shang Mu because of the spell he'd been forced to cast on himself that stopped him from teleporting to the kingdoms. But he could speed the jeep up and get them home faster. There was an hour left until sunset. They had to get home soon...or they would be too late...

* * *

 _ **YAY, LILAC'S HOME! :D But will she live long enough to enjoy it? Can she stop Memphis? Will Gong and Clifford get home in time before execution can commence? Find out next time as we reach "Execution Time"...**_


	6. Chapter 6: Execution Time

_Chapter 6: Execution Time_

Lilac took a brief moment to wonder how long it would take Shang Mu to repair the damages done to the pathways in the streets by the time this fight was over. There were fist marks punched into the concrete all over from the robots that kept trying to punch her and flatten her into a pancake. The dragon girl was just grateful they had yet to actually damage a building in the battle. She wouldn't have felt very good if they had done.

The disgraced heroine of Avalice had been fighting against the three Shang Mu surveillance drones for a few minutes now and she was beginning to get a little exhausted. She was panting and sweat was dripping down her face. She'd used her best attacks on the robots several times but having to deal with three of them wasn't as easy as taking down one of them. She had to hit each of them and that gave the other robots time to recover as their comrades were being hit. One of them had been blinded earlier but it seemed to be making up for that disability by following the noises Lilac made and following its comrades wherever they flew. The blinded robot had even come close to hitting Lilac as she ran by it a moment ago. The heavy fist had missed her by centimetres but the dragon had felt the shockwave from the punch hitting against her back and knocking her over. She had of course quickly recovered.

Now she stood before the three robots, wondering how to take them out now she was feeling worn out. She hadn't defied her sentence and come all the way here just to fall victim to a bunch of robots. Not ones she had been able to defeat last year when chasing after the Kingdom Stone in this very kingdom with her friends and Torque. She was going to win this battle even if she injured herself in the process.

"OK Lilac girl…take it easy. You can beat them…" she insisted, "But I need to rest up. I could hide…and then ambush them one at a time…"

The dragon turned over the thought in her head. Yes, it could work. It was possible. She would try it out and see if it worked. Lilac turned her back on her mechanical opponents and sped off, leaving a train of sparkles in their wake as she shot off around the corner of a house. The sparkle trail distracted the robots for a moment for the sunlight combined with how bright the sparkles were made a rather sizeable glistening glow that shone in their optics. It didn't keep them distracted for long though. The two robots that could see quickly shook it off and they flew after Lilac while the third and blinded robot followed the sound of their back-mounted propellers churning through the air. The machines deduced that Lilac had gone around the corner so she had to be down that particular block of houses. They decided to separate and search for her as they'd have an easier time finding her than if they were all together. One of the robots flew straight up the street, the second went left and the third went right. The third robot would rely on its hearing in order to find Lilac for its singular eye was of no use to it. It hovered between an alleyway that was surprisingly large enough for it to fit through and it listened out for any sign of Lilac. Its draconian prey had to be somewhere about. It tilted side to side as it kept its audio receptors on the alert for the dragon.

But then suddenly, something shot forwards and slammed straight through its broken eye. It was Lilac unleashing another Dragon-Boost of course. The dragon had literally been standing directly in front of the blinded robot but hadn't been noticed because she hadn't been making any sounds and the robot had been unable to see her. Thus it had fallen into a perfect trap for a blinded machine. Lilac's attack smashed the already ruined optic to pieces but she didn't stop there. The feeble resistance from the broken optic had barely slowed her down so she'd been able to smash through it and into the robot's chassis. She then burst out through the back of the robot and landed down on the road just inches away from it. The wrecked machine could no longer function with so much of its circuitry and motors destroyed by the dragon's powerful attack. It malfunctioned and then shut-down for good, crashing down onto the ground in a heap of scrap metal. Lilac punched the air triumphantly.

"Oh yeah! I've still got that dragon power in me!" she cried out, "Even a week in exile hasn't sullied my battle prowess!"

The dragon then suddenly heard the sound of whirring motors and she dived behind a nearby row of dustbins to hide. She watched from a gap between the bins as the second robot she'd been battling emerged from around the corner and surveyed the scene before it. It had not expected to see its comrade destroyed and in pieces on the ground. It had clearly been destroyed by the very dragon they were trying to kill for their new master. That had to mean that Lilac was nearby if she'd just destroyed it. But how close was nearby? It soon found out for Lilac suddenly jumped out from behind the bins and unleashed a Dragon-Cyclone on it. The robot was suddenly walloped by the dragon's whippy tornado-like attack and it was sent careening into the wall nearby. But it hadn't hit the wall enough to smash straight through it. In order to keep it away from the wall, Lilac landed down on the ground in front of the huge-fist wielding machine and Dragon-Boosted directly into the middle of it head on. The boost hit the robot and sent it hurling backwards out of the alley-way. It had also damaged its optic very heavily. The optic was cracked and the single eye now looked like a fractured mirror. The robot could barely see now. The world was a cracked window in its damaged eye. Lilac smirked and took the opportunity to Dragon-Boost at it again, this time smashing through the cracked optic and tearing it apart from the inside out. She erupted through the back of the robot, tearing through its vital components and destroying it instantly. The stricken robot swayed and then crashed down onto the ground just at the foot of the alleyway. Smoke drifted up from its remains. Lilac stared at the wrecked robot, panting for breath.

"I'm sorry to do this Zao…but whoever's done this to you clearly wants me dead. I'm sure your men can fix them when you get out of prison…" she said to herself.

The dragon decided to chance the possibility of reaching the palace before the first and final robot found her. It could be searching anywhere for her at this point so it was worth a risk. She might even make it. Lilac sped off back the way she'd come and turned the corner to head back towards Shang Mu Palace. She thought back briefly to the deserted city. Maybe whoever had imprisoned her friends and Zao had scared them into hiding with these robots. Maybe they were in their homes and hidden because they didn't want the robots to snatch them up. They could even be scared of their kingdom's conqueror. It was a pity they were hidden, otherwise they would see that Lilac had returned and she was destroying the robots for them. They'd be happy to see her again now she was saving their kingdom from whomever it was that had oppressed them. She still couldn't let go of this nagging feeling that the one who'd captured her friends was somebody she knew. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. She'd soon find out as she neared the palace.

But just as she was within a few yards of the opulent building, the last robot suddenly spotted her and lunged at her in a charge that was impossible for even itself to stop. Lilac screamed and threw herself onto the path, leaving the robot to hurl straight past her and crash into nearby house. Luckily, the occupants inside the house had seen it coming and had abandoned it before the robot had crashed into it. The result ended up in the house being reduced to chunks of brickwork and debris. Lilac saw this and her face fell in dismay. She'd been hoping to prevent any damages being done to the buildings around her. And she'd failed. She stared at the wrecked house and then looked over guiltily at the two red pandas that had occupied it. But the pandas seemed more surprised to see Lilac than the fact her house had been destroyed.

"Hey darling, look who it is!" exclaimed one of the red pandas.

"It's…It's that dragon girl everybody mistakenly thought was evil! She's back!" exclaimed the other, "Oh thank heavens above, she's back at last!"

"She can save our kingdom from that evil fire dragon who's taken it over!" cried the first one.

Lilac was stunned. The two red pandas were HAPPY to see her! That proved it then, her innocence had finally been proven at last! She wouldn't be in exile anymore for Zao and the others would have to overturn her sentence since her innocence had been proven! But she was a little nervous upon hearing them mention an evil fire dragon. They couldn't be referring to her uncle could they? She shook it off. It could be any fire dragon. Lilac walked up to them and smiled.

"Hey, I'm glad you're happy to see me." she said.

"You're not mad at us for doubting you are you?" asked one of the red pandas worriedly.

"Oh no, not at all!" Lilac said cheerfully, "I understand why the kingdoms doubted me. I was set up by some guy and there was no evidence to prove my innocence. You were all manipulated and because of that, I don't have any qualm against your kingdom or any of the others. Now please, get out of here before you get hurt. I'm going to save your kingdom and I'd rather not have innocent lives to worry about at the same time."

"Got it. And bless you so much dragon girl!" cried the second panda.

Lilac beamed, pleased to receive such a comment for the first time in a week. It was funny to think that a week ago, the three kingdoms had been demanding her punishment and now two residents of Shang Mu were thanking the heavens for her return! Amazing how swiftly things can change over time. Lilac waited until the two red pandas had left to go to a safe place before turning around to face her final robotical opponent. The robot picked itself up, bits of walls and roof sliding off of its helmet and onto the wreckage pile, and it hovered towards Lilac. Its back mounted propeller was still spinning though the blades looked a little misshapen. Lilac stood her ground and prepared to attack. Her eyes narrowed at the robot and she breathed in deeply. She was still feeling tired but she wasn't going to give up yet. Not while there was one more robot to beat. She'd have a rest after destroying it and then rescue her friends. Fatigue was something her friends' captor could not be allowed to exploit.

The robot lunged towards her, its fists drawn back and ready to punch down on her. A single punch would crush the girl like a soda can if it hit her. But the dragon dodged the punches and Dragon-Boosted into the robot's forehead. The robot was stricken and sent tumbling backwards but it remained upright thanks to its back-mounted propeller. The dragon landed behind the robot and then jumped up in a tornado-spin that was her Dragon Cyclone attack. Her tendrils whipped the robot callously, leaving marks on the red paint of its helmet. Then Lilac tail-ended her trademark attack with a roundhouse kick that actually left a heavy dent in the robot's helmet. The kick threw the robot down onto the ground and Lilac landed directly on top of it. The robot picked itself up with its prey standing atop its helmet. It knew Lilac was there and it raised a hand, ready to squash her like a bug with a single swat. But Lilac jumped off of the robot, leaving it to smack down on its own head with its own hand. This caused the robot to heavily dent the top of its head and damage its inner circuitry, namely the stuff in its head. With its computer brain now damaged, the robot began to break out in spasms, twitching and flinching crazily as if it was short-circuiting. It no longer knew which way was up and down and it was going ballistic. The dragon watched nervously. If she didn't stop it now, it could destroy Shang Mu in a drunken rage.

She acted fast, running in front of the damaged robot and Dragon-Boosting directly into its optic. The attack was enough to smash through it given the robot's own slamming of its head had been enough to weaken its optic. Lilac smashed straight through it like a stone through a window and she ploughed through the robot's inner circuitry. She once again, smashed her way out through the back of the robot's head and that finished it off completely. No longer able to function, the robot crashed down into pieces on the ground. There was only a pile of metal left of it at the end. Lilac observed the pile of metal that had once been a surveillance robot. Wiping sweat off of her head, she was glad that it was over at last.

"Phew…that was cathartic…" she gasped, "But totally satisfying. Now I can rest up and rescue my friends. Given I'm still the big badass dragon I am, I'll succeed easily. I'm just that good."

She grinned to herself, already imagining how well the rescue operation was going to go.

"Your skills are impressive…" purred a voice that Lilac hadn't heard for over six years.

The dragon's heart turned to ice and she stiffened in disbelief. No…it couldn't be! It couldn't be him could it?! Lilac turned around and gasped as she saw a familiar figure holding some kind of walking stick jump down from the balcony of the Shang Mu Palace and then land on the ground with no signs of injuring himself. The teen-Avalician let out a shriek of horror. She could hardly believe who she was looking at. The red-skinned dragon that stood before her straightened up and smirked at her confidently.

"…but they will NOT save you…" he crowed.

"MEMPHIS?!" Lilac exclaimed.

"That's UNCLE Memphis to you, you little brat!" the fire dragon snarled threateningly.

"But…but…how?!" the dragon stammered, "You've been gone for six years! Surely that had to have meant you were dead! How are you still alive?!"

"Strain your brain and guess you stupid child." Memphis snorted as if the question was a really stupid one.

Lilac thought for a moment before finding out the answer.

"You've been in hiding haven't you?" she declared, "You've been hiding for six whole years!"

"Fantastic, you worked it out." Memphis sneered in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "Yes my dear niece, you never saw me again after that night because I had to go into hiding. You see, you ran away from me before I could do anything. I worried you would squeal on me about your parents since you saw me kill them. So I had to disappear for a while to prevent being hunted down. And now nobody expected me to come back and thought I was dead, I chose the perfect moment to come back."

"So what are you doing here you murderer?!" Lilac snarled, her body boiling with seething hatred and rage, "Have you come here to kill me just like you killed mom and dad?!"

"Nonsense child. I don't kill children." the dragon said dismissively, "Oh no. You see…I'm the Mayor of Shang Mu now. Timothy Turtle signed up for the elections this morning and he won the total number of votes. But he only did it so I could take the throne. He was working for me the whole time. Why? Because he wanted a dragon on the throne. So I made him a deal and he accepted…with some persuasion of course. And once he became Mayor of Shang Mu, he relinquished his title over to me and now I rule this kingdom with a fiery fist."

Lilac's head began to spin from what she'd just heard. Timothy had been working for him the whole time?! And he'd won the elections today and then gave his title over to Memphis?! She hadn't expected this at all. Then suddenly, Lilac's head went click as she realized something else. She now knew who was responsible for getting her exiled. Gritting her teeth and growling savagely, Lilac glared at her evil uncle.

"It was you! You did this! You turned me evil and manipulated the kingdoms into exiling me! You did all of this! Thanks to you, I spent a week of loneliness and despair with no friends and family to look after me!" she screeched, "How could you?! You monster, you horrible, horrible monster! HOW COULD YOU?!"

"A king needs to make sure his throne is protected." Memphis sneered, "I had to get rid of you Lilac so you wouldn't be able to play the big heroine and stop me from getting what I want. It's just a pity that you've come crawling back to try and ruin everything for me. What inspired you to return by the way?"

"I decided to spite the Magister, Zao and Dail and ignore their sentence." Lilac lied, "Good thing I did too! Now I can kick your ass for kidnapping my friends and taking over Shang Mu! Your rule is over Memphis!"

"For the last time, that is UNCLE Memphis to you!" the evil dragon spat.

"Go to hell! You're not my uncle! You're no family of mine!" the teen-dragon snarled, "You're a monster and you're going to hell when I'm done with you!"

"Oh I don't know about that Lilac my girl…" Memphis purred, "I think my friends might have something to say about this…"

Lilac looked puzzled. Friends? How could somebody as vile and wicked as Memphis possibly have friends? She soon found out what he meant for out of nowhere, the Red Scarves all emerged from their hiding places and surrounded the dragon in a big circle of bodies and weapons. The Red Scarves had been lying in wait the whole time, another part of Memphis's sinister trap for the dragon. The robots had just been there to wear her out and the Red Scarves were meant to subdue her once their new leader gave the signal. Spade smirked at the dragon as he brandished his Joker card and prepared to throw it at her. Lilac looked around in disbelief, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"The Red Scarves?!" she shrieked, "How the heck did you convince these low-lives to work for you?!"

"Simple. I offered to help them free Spade from prison in exchange for helping me get rid of you." Memphis purred, "They were quite keen to aid me in my plans."

"This is a new low for you Memphis…" Lilac growled, "Getting your own flesh-and-blood exiled and casting your lot with scummy criminals like the Red Scarves?! I'm disgusted that I'm related to you…"

"You're one to talk considering you used to BE one of the Red Scarves…" the fire dragon retorted, "And I can't say I'm too happy to be related to you either. But enough talk. Scarves, seize her!" he ordered.

Before the order had been given, the Red Scarves had been staring at each other in puzzlement. Lilac and Memphis were related? This couldn't be possible could it? Spade in particular was having a hard time believing that his new boss was related to Lilac in anyway. But they quickly shoved those thoughts aside as they sprang into action. The ninjas all closed in on Lilac and prepared to grab her. A very big mistake for Lilac simply spun around on her tip-toes and whipped them all away with her tendrils in a Dragon-Cyclone manoeuvre. When trying to subdue Lilac, it is never considered wise to get close to her. Spade had been the only ninja to not be so stupid. As his teammates were knocked down, he threw his Joker card at Lilac. The card sliced a cut across her right shoulder just as she stopped spinning. The dragon yelped in pain and clutched her bleeding cut tensely. Spade took advantage of this by boosting towards her and slamming his shoulder into her injured arm. Lilac was thrown aside by the blow and she landed heavily on her left arm. The hard concrete path made no attempt to cushion her fall as she hit it. Now both of Lilac's arms were hurting. This would make fighting a little harder since the arms were very important limbs to use in a fight.

The dragon ignored the pain in her arms as she picked herself up and threw a punch at Spade's face. But being exhausted from the earlier battle, she was slower than she normally would have been so the panda ninja wheeled out of her way and then slammed his elbow into the centre of Lilac's back just between her shoulder blades. The dragon cried out in pain as she was thrown forwards and onto her hands and knees. The moment she was down, the Red Scarves reacted quickly. They closed in on Lilac and quickly tied her up tightly with thick ropes that they had on them. They bound her hands behind her back and then wrapped ropes around her chest and torso and legs to keep her firmly subdued. Once they'd finished, Lilac began struggling and writhing around. She looked like a wounded snake trying to slither away as she tried to get free. But the ropes were too tight. The ninjas had even triple knotted them to keep her tightly tied up. The dragon couldn't get free. Memphis strode up to his subdued niece and smirked at her. How wonderful it felt to have Lilac all helpless and at his mercy! Lilac glared up at him, her magenta eyes full of unfathomable hatred.

"Nice try my dear, but not good enough." Memphis gloated, "Now you know why it's always a good idea to rest after a big battle with three big robots."

"You won't get away with this Memphis!" grunted Lilac, still trying to get free of her binds, "I'm gonna stop you and once my friends get outta your dungeon, they'll stop you too!"

"Nobody can stop me Lilac. Not you, nor Natalya, nor anybody." the fire dragon sneered, "I'm on top of the world and nobody will ever be able to throw me down to the bottom…"

He then raised his cane high above his head and brought it crashing down onto Lilac's head. The last thing the dragon saw before she was knocked out was a glistening purple orb swinging through the sunlit sky towards her. The dragon collapsed onto her side and closed her eyes, completely out cold. A large bump protruded from where she'd been hit. Memphis just chortled to himself. It felt good to be doing this to the one person who might have a chance at dethroning him. He glanced over at Spade.

"Take her to the balcony room and put her in Zao's Mu Bird Cage." he ordered, "I'll talk to her again later."

"Why not just kill her now while you have the chance?" asked Spade curiously.

"I don't kill children." Memphis replied bluntly.

"Yet you're going to have Carol and Milla executed…" the panda noted.

"That's different." the dragon retorted, "I'm not the one killing them. The executioner is. And besides, I can use the fact they're going to be executed to my advantage. I could force Lilac to work for me in exchange for their being allowed to live. I've always wanted that child to work for me. So talented and skilful…it'd be a shame to let that go to waste. So when she wakes up, I'll let her know there's a chopping block with all her friend's names on it and see if that'll make her swear fealty to me."

"Ah…that's quite a good idea Memphis." said Spade smoothly, "The dragon brat would be very useful to our cause. Having her back in the Red Scarves and working for you would give people plenty of reasons to respect and fear us. I like this idea of yours."

"I knew you would." crooned Memphis, "Now come on, we've got a dragon to lock up."

Spade nodded and he and his men picked up the unconscious, tied up dragon that lay at their feet. Memphis turned on his heels and walked back towards the palace with his vest-coat blowing out behind him. Today was truly the best day of his life. He'd taken over Shang Mu, captured Lilac's friends and his ex-girlfriend Natalya and now he'd captured his own niece, the only one other than Natalya that had a chance of beating him and ruining his plans. And now he was going to execute Lilac's friends unless she agreed to work for him. Could this day get any better? He hoped so for he was enjoying himself immensely...and would enjoy himself more when sunset arrived...

* * *

The green-robed panda attracted some impressed and interested stares from many people as he walked through the streets of Shang Tu and headed on towards the Royal Palace. It wasn't often that this panda set foot in the blue-coloured kingdom of Shang Tu so seeing him was an unusual sight, yet a striking one. His green robes made him stand out amongst the blue houses and buildings that were dotted all around the kingdom. The panda took no notice of his watchers. He was only interested in his destination, which was ahead of him right now. The Shang Tu Royal Palace looked as grand and magnificent as ever, something that never failed to amaze the visitor. The green-robed man approached the doors, which looked unusually grand for a door, and he knocked on them. The doors opened up and he was invited in by somebody he didn't know. He had expected Neera Li, a former resident of his kingdom Shuigang, or General Gong to be opening up the door. Instead it was just a guard who's name he didn't know and likely wouldn't ever know for he had no interest in finding it out. He was here to see one person only, not here to strike conversations with guards. He walked through the hallway and upstairs to the balcony room, the favourite meeting place for the person that had invited him. The Royal Magister of Shang Tu. And the green-robed panda who was coming to see him was King Dail of Shuigang.

King Dail had personally requested that he come to Shang Tu so he could talk with The Magister about the recent news. He'd been thrilled to hear that he was right all along about Lilac's innocence and was eager to get voting for her exile to be overturned. But now, they couldn't worry about Lilac since he and The Magister had their own kingdoms to worry about. Sunset was dangerously close to arriving. The sky was already beginning to turn darker and the sun was getting ready to descend behind the horizon. Memphis would be expecting them to accept his demands by now. But they hadn't. They had not responded to his demands and thus, the dragon would be preparing to blow Shang Tu and Shuigang to smithereens with Zao's Sky Battalion. He had asked The Magister if he could come over so they could discuss what to do. Dail reached the door of the balcony room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." came the deep, smooth voice of Shang Tu's Royal Leader.

Dail opened the door and let himself in. He never ceased to be amazed by the appearance of the balcony room. It was very grand looking and had a kind of atmosphere that could put anybody at ease. He felt more relaxed just standing in the room. The Magister himself was as usual, standing at his balcony and admiring the view outside. Did he ever do anything else other than admire his own kingdom? Dail often wondered that. The Magister's eyes were cold and serious. They even looked somewhat sad as if he knew this was the last time he'd ever see his kingdom again. His kingdom had just recovered from the damages done to it three weeks ago following the blowing up of the drainage tunnels. He couldn't bear to lose it now. Dail approached the mysterious ruler. It still puzzled him as to why his face was always hidden to the world. Would he ever reveal it one day? The Magister turned to face him.

"Thanks for accepting my invitation to come over." the king said with a bow.

"It was an invitation that I couldn't really refuse." the blue-robed royal murmured, "So Dail, what's your stance regarding Memphis's demands right now?"

The green-robed prince-turned-king scowled as if the very image of Memphis and his demands sickened him.

"I refuse to give my kingdom to that psychopath!" Dail spat viciously, "It's bad enough how Brevon murdered my father and manipulated my kingdom, I refuse to let another villain take it now!"

"But what about Memphis's threat?" The Magister asked, "Aren't you concerned that he'll use the Sky Battalion to destroy your kingdom?"

"As if he's gonna do that!" the panda retorted, "I'll deploy my own Sky Battalion and blast him out of the sky! True Zao will need a new Sky Battalion when we're done byt sacrifices have to be made."

"Memphis has made it perfectly clear that if we attempt to find back, he'll destroy us all." the royal Avalician murmured, "I'd rather not risk losing any men at this moment. It'd be better if we could capture Memphis without any bloodshed."

"Maybe so but I'm gonna put my Battalion on standby." Dail announced, "If we have no other choice, I'm going to send it after him and attack! I hope you won't try to convince me otherwise your majesty."

"I will not dictate over what you do King Dail." The Magister promised, "I am in no position to tell you what to do in this pressing moment. You do what you think is right."

"I appreciate it sir." said Dail brightly, "And you know what Magister? You should do the same. Deploy your Sky Battalion too to fight Memphis. If both our Battalions are together, we can take him down easily!"

"Not necessarily..." The Magister noted, "Remember the First Great War of Avalice 100 years ago? There was a fleet of ninety ships against a fleet of two hundred ships. In that war, the smaller fleet won. Quality, not quantity as they say. We may have great numbers but Zao's airships are among the best in the world. We could still be defeated despite our larger numbers. But...I suppose we have a better chance if we work together. It's risky...but we have no other choice. I sent Neera Li over to Shang Mu to arrest Memphis and she hasn't returned yet. We can assume she's failed her mission. So we have no other choice. To save our kingdoms...we'll both have to deploy our Battalions and fight back."

"I agree Magister." the replied, "And just remember this. If we die in the battle, we die with honour. I'm not letting Memphis take my kingdom without a fight and neither should you. I'm glad you're joining me in the battle."

"You're welcome." The Magister said stoically, "We'll need a battle plan though. To avoid damages to our kingdoms, we have to combat Shang Mu's Battalion before it gets near us. It's very likely that Memphis will target me first since it's possible he's captured Neera Li and has likely decided to attack me first out of spite. He'll have to cross over Jade Creek in order to reach my kingdom. We'll have to ambush him there."

The panda nodded agreeably, liking the Magister's logic and thinking he had a good idea.

"And what if you're wrong?" asked Dail, "What if he targets me first?"

"He won't. You've done nothing to provoke him." the robed Avalician noted, "He'll go for me first. So we'll set up our Battalions and hide out in Jade Creek for Memphis. When he comes, we attack."

"And after Memphis is defeated, we can overturn Lilac's sentence and bring her home." the king declared.

"Already seen to that. I've sent Gong to find her." The Magister replied, "How long it'll take for him to find her is beyond me but at least we have somebody looking for her."

Dail blinked in surprise. The Magister seemed a few steps ahead of him all of a sudden. He was quite well known for being very intelligent and strategic after all. He made the fewest wrong choices of any Avalician ruler in any of the three kingdoms due to his intelligence.

"Oh, in that case we can just focus on stopping Memphis." Dail said brightly, "I sure hope Gong finds her soon."

"I hope so too..." The Magister agreed, "I really hope so..."

He and Dail both glanced out of the balcony and watched as the sun began to set. They'd have to get their fleets ready and fast for sunset was coming. It would be dark soon and Memphis would begin his attack. When the missiles fired, the two knew that it would be worth trying to defend their kingdoms. They just hoped that they would succeed in the battle...and that Lilac would come home safely...

* * *

It was nearly completely dark over in Shang Mu. The sun was still visible though the sky was becoming darker and darker as it disappeared behind the horizon. It was almost time for two events Memphis had been anticipating. The deaths of Lilac's friends unless she agreed to serve him and the destruction of Shang Tu and Shuigang. They hadn't reached their deadline. They were too late. They would now suffer for their ignorance. At the moment, the red scaled dragon was walking upstairs to see his latest prisoner in the balcony room. He had ordered his men to prepare Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Natalya, Neera and Zao for their public beheadings. After Lilac had been knocked out, the Red Scarves had set up a chopping block on the stage that the elections had taken place and one of the ninjas had volunteered to be the executioner. He was very good with an axe and thus, was perfect for the job. Even Spade told Memphis that this ninja was the best choice for executioner since there were none anymore. The new mayor had been delighted and had let the ninja take the job. The soon-to-be-executed prisoners were still in the dungeon but there were Red Scarves waiting for Memphis to give the signal to let them out and bring them to the chopping block. His signal would come in the form of telling Lilac "I guess you don't want to see your friends again" to which Spade would pick up for he was going to be listening to Lilac and Memphis's conversation in the balcony room and he would go down and tell his men that it was time. Memphis also gave one of the ninjas a serum that would weaken Natalya in case she tried to attack once they unchained her. Now everything was in place, he was going to have his little chat with his niece.

He entered the balcony room and closed the door behind him, leaving Spade to listen to the conversation outside. Now alone with his prisoner, Memphis walked up to Lilac with a triumphant smirk on his face. His niece had been locked up in an enormous birdcage that sat on the floor in the middle of the room. Zao had once kept a pet which was a species of animal known as a Mu-Bird. Mu Birds were beautiful creatures the size of a small child, hence the big cage that Lilac was now trapped in. The Mu-Bird had long since died though and Zao had kept the cage in hopes of purchasing a new pet in the future. Now it was used as Lilac's prison. The cage was too small for her to stand up in. She was sitting down on the floor of the cage, her knees tucked up against her chest and her arms resting under her chin. She looked insanely angry. How could she have been captured so easily?! The bump on her head throbbed and Lilac remembered bitterly how Memphis had knocked her clean out with his cane. She'd woken up a few minutes ago and was horrified to see what had happened to her. This shouldn't have happened. She should have beaten him and the Scarves and rescued her friends! Now she was locked up literally like a bird in a cage and unable to get out. The cage was far too small for her to Dragon-Boost or Dragon Cyclone out of and the bars were too strong for her to break with punches and kicks. Mu-Bird cages were built for strength and stability in order to contain the birds they were built for. Lilac was well and truly trapped. Memphis bent down on one knee, his left hand resting on his cane and his right hand resting on his right knee. Lilac glared at him with loathsome eyes that seemed too angry to be her own.

"What do you want?!" she snarled.

"Now, now my dear, that is no way to talk to your uncle." Memphis said casually.

"And this is no way to treat your family!" Lilac barked, "Is this your idea on how to treat your own niece?! Lock her up in a giant bird cage and keep her prisoner?!"

"I thought you said you weren't any family of mine..." the fire dragon sneered.

"You're not if this is your idea on how to treat your own flesh and blood!" the teen-dragon growled, getting up onto her knees and gripping the bars, "You sicken me Memphis and I want you to leave me alone! I don't wanna see you!"

"Well tough Lilac because me and you are going to have a little chat." said Memphis sternly, "I'm not going anywhere."

"So what do you want?" demanded Lilac, "If you want me to beg for mercy then forget it! I will NEVER show weakness to a monster like you!"

"I don't want you to plead or anything pathetic like that my child." the evil dragon admitted, "I would undermine the proud name of the dragon race by making you beg for mercy. A true dragon never begs or pleads for anything."

Lilac just scowled at her repulsive uncle. He had a nerve to say what a true dragon did! He was a criminal and a murderer! He was no dragon at all. A true dragon wouldn't do things like that at all.

"I wish to talk to you about a few things." Memphis announced, "First of all, did you ever wonder what I was planning to do with you after you-know-what happened?"

"I assume you wanted to kill me too." Lilac growled, "You said to dad before you murdered him that you was going to "take good care of me". I assumed you meant you were going to kill me too right?"

"Nothing of the sort. Remember, I don't kill children." the dragon said firmly, "I hate the idea of killing children. It seems so wasteful of a life that could be put to good use later in life."

"Oh my gosh, you actually have standards?! That...that's shocking..." the heroine muttered sarcastically.

"After your parents died, I was actually planning on raising you as my own." Memphis continued, ignoring his niece's remark, "I wasn't that keen on you I admit but you started showing signs of good power and potential skills after you were mentored by Dawn and Stephen. I decided that I'd put your talents to good use. But sadly, you caught me in the act and ran away. I was sad to lose you that day. I lost a promising disciple..."

"Oh cry me a river." snorted Lilac, "You're disgusting! You actually PLANNED to use me as your pet weapon?! Well I've got news for you Memphis! I'm NOBODY'S weapon! I'm an Avalician and nothing will EVER change that!"

"Don't you talk to me in that tone you ungrateful little brat or I'll have you hung upside down and flogged!" the villain snarled viciously.

"Ungrateful?! You killed my mom and dad in cold blood and you ruined Natalya's life with those deaths and you also plotted to use me for your own benefits! How the hell am I ungrateful?!" the lilac-dragon screeched.

Memphis recomposed himself and relaxed for a moment before he continued speaking.

"Because in a way, I'm responsible for you becoming the heroine you are now." he claimed, "Think about it my dear niece. If I hadn't killed Dawn and Stephen, Natalya wouldn't have gone on the deep end and formulated the Red Scarves, thus mentoring you after you became a member of the gang and teaching you what you know now. Because of me, you was able to stop Lord Brevon, twice if I've heard correctly, and you foiled the Christmas Raid last year. So all the heroic things you've done...you've got ME to thank for that. So I think you should show me some respect."

Lilac's jaw dropped as she considered what Memphis had said. In a way, her uncle did have a point. The deaths of Dawn and Stephen had definitely benefited her greatly. Natalya had become a criminal and had passed her teachings onto Lilac in the time she was a Red Scarf. Natalya was the reason she knew martial arts and the Dragon-Boost and Cyclone attacks. True she'd already been learning from Dawn and Stephen at the time but Natalya had helped her perfect them. And what resulted from this had been Lilac becoming the hero she was known for being and the death of Lord Brevon. But Lilac knew that she didn't have to thank Memphis at all. She had to thank Dawn and Stephen, her parents. They had taught her the attacks. She would have perfected them herself if she'd never met Natalya, or even perfected them with her parents' help if they'd never been killed. The dragon gripped the bars of her cage tighter and gritted her teeth.

"You are so mistaken if you think for a minute I'm going to thank you for anything you sick, twisted devil!" she snarled, "Mom and dad are the ones I have to thank! NOT you! They were already teaching me what they knew and if they hadn't died, I'd still have perfected those moves and become the heroine I am today! So you can take your stupid claims and shove them up your ass!"

Memphis glared indignantly at his impudent niece. She dared to speak to him like this?! He wouldn't let her get away with it, not one bit. He raised his cane and banged it against the bars, making Lilac shoot backwards and press her back against the bars behind her. Memphis then peered into the cage and growled at his prisoner.

"Talk to me like that again and I'll pump you full of Dark Stone Energy just like I did last week! Got it?!" he warned.

Lilac nodded. She had of course, known it was Memphis who had given her the Dark Stone Energy and she didn't want to be corrupted again. It was horrible enough the last two times it had happened. She glanced at Memphis's cane and worked out how he'd gotten the Dark Stone Energy.

"So...you got an energy conductor..." she murmured, "Shouldn't be too surprised a crook like you managed to get hold of an illegal invention like that."

"No, you shouldn't." Memphis sneered, "With the Dark Stone's energy in my hands, I can blackmail people as I see fit. It really helped me with the capture of your friends by the way." he added tauntingly.

"I was just gonna ask about them." Lilac said coldly, "Why have you captured them? What are you gonna do with them?"

"And how might I ask did you know that I captured your friends?" asked Memphis.

"Never you mind." the dragon retorted, "Just answer my questions."

"I hardly think you're in any position to boss me around you impudent girl…but I'll satisfy your curiosity anyway." the criminal Avalician purred, "Your friends committed treason against me by breaking into my palace and trying to overthrow me. Or in Natalya's case…murder me."

"Too bad they failed at that one…" muttered Lilac.

"But I tricked them into standing down by threatening to use the Dark Stone's Energy on myself and now they're chained in the palace dungeon along with the former mayor Zao." Memphis explained, pretending he hadn't heard Lilac's cruel remark, "As for what I'm going to do to them. Well…they did commit some pretty heinous crimes against me so they have to die for it I'm afraid. I'm going to have them executed. They'll be the first people in a long, long time to be executed. And I've ordered all of Shang Mu to watch them die so they know what happens if they dare to double cross me…"

He paused, waiting for Lilac to react. The teen-dragon just stared at him in total horror. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Memphis was going to have her friends executed in front of a live audience?! She didn't think he could stoop any lower than he already had done but it seemed that she was wrong. He was bringing back a dead punishment just to show people what happens to those who mess with him. He was well and truly sick and twisted and Lilac found herself more and more disgusted that she was related to this vile and wicked man. How could a man this evil possibly be her uncle? Lilac gripped the bars so tightly that she looked as if she was trying to crush them.

"No…please…you can't do this!" the dragon shrieked, "Please Memphis, don't do this! Please don't kill my friends! I beg of you!"

"I thought you weren't going to beg for mercy from me…" sneered Memphis.

"I had no idea my friends' lives were on the line at the time!" Lilac protested, "Please Memphis, you must spare them! I'd be devastated if you killed them now! And besides, Carol and Milla are children! You don't kill children remember?"

"I know, hence why I'm not the one swinging the axe down on them." the fire-breathing criminal noted, "But Lilac, since I'm feeling generous, I WILL spare your friends' lives. If…you join me and serve me faithfully. If you swear fealty to me, I will let your friends live. Do we have a deal my darling niece?"

He held his hand between the bars of the cage, expecting Lilac to shake it. The dragon glared at it in disgust. Memphis seriously thought she'd accept an offer like that? He was out of his mind! She would never serve him! And besides, knowing her treacherous uncle, he'd probably kill them anyway even if she did accept. Angered, Lilac reached forward and bit Memphis's hand as hard as she could. The fire dragon let out a blood-curdling yell as his niece's teeth sunk into his hand. He never knew that Lilac could bite so hard. He yanked his hand back out of the cage and clutched it tenderly, wincing in total agony. Lilac had bitten so hard that she'd drawn blood. Some of it had got onto her mouth. She wiped it off of her lips and watched as Memphis clutched his bleeding hand. It made her feel good to be biting the man that had manipulated everybody into exiling her.

"I would rather rot in this cage than serve you!" she screamed, "You killed my parents, you manipulated the people who once admired me and got me exiled from my own home and the kingdoms I swore to protect and now you've imprisoned my friends and are plotting to execute them! I will NEVER work for you!"

Memphis glared at his loathsome relative. She really did have too much of Dawn in her. Dawn had always had a rather spunky attitude that made her a nuisance to try and deal with. It was as if Dawn still lived in the form of Lilac. Memphis's cold yellow eyes narrowed at his prisoner.

"Then I guess you don't want to see your friends again…" he snarled.

That was Spade's signal to tell his men to get the prisoners ready for the chopping block. He was surprised to receive the signal so much later than he'd expected. The conversation had gone on for longer than he'd anticipated. But he wasted no time reacting. He ran away from the door and headed off down to the dungeon to get his men moving and fast. He was going to enjoy watching three of the Red Scarf traitors and his former boss losing their heads. Neera, Zao and Milla, he wasn't bothered too much about but he wasn't going to lose sleep over their deaths either. Back in the balcony room, Memphis got up to his feet and pointed his cane at the caged Lilac.

"Oh Lilac, you really shouldn't have refused my offer." he said coldly, "Now you're going to lose your surrogate mother and your friends just like you lost your parents. How do you think they're going to feel with you selfishly choosing yourself over them?"

"They won't let you kill them so easily!" Lilac screeched, "Especially Natalya! She'll kick your ass before the executioner's axe can fall!"

"I'm afraid not my dear." Memphis crowed, "My men have an injection with a strength-draining serum that they're going to give to her. Natalya will be utterly helpless and I'll be watching in case Carol, Milla, Neera or Milla's parents dare try to escape. They're all dead Lilac...and it's all your fault for exploiting my generosity. And as for you? I'll just pump you full of Dark Stone Energy again so you'll be my loyal servant anyway. You're still going to serve me despite your decision Lilac. So I still win my dear..."

The teen-dragon stared in disbelief at Memphis. The dragon was just going to corrupt her and make her his slave after he'd killed her friends? This would be unbearable for her. She couldn't live a life like that! A life without her friends and working for her parents' killer. She had to get out of the cage and fast before the execution could begin!

"You can't do this Memphis! You just can't do this!" she exclaimed.

"Oh and who's going to stop me?" Memphis snorted, "Now if you'll excuse me Lilac, I have some beheadings to observe. I'll let you watch if you want."

He then grabbed Lilac's cage and dragged it over to the balcony rail. Lilac was surprised that he was even strong enough to pull a cage containing a sixteen-year old dragon inside. The cage made a horrible scraping sound as Memphis dragged it towards the rail. He positioned Lilac directly up close to the rail and positioned her so she could see between the posts of the rail. Lilac looked between the posts and saw a stage with a ninja standing behind a chopping block with a heavy axe in his hands. He was waiting for his soon-to-be-executed prisoners to come forward. Lilac had a perfect view of the stage and would witness her friends' deaths from up in the balcony. It made her feel sick that Memphis was forcing her to watch what was about to come. It was like when she'd watched her parents die, only Memphis hadn't made Lilac watch him do the deed. Smirking at his imprisoned niece, Memphis turned on his heels and walked away.

"Enjoy the show my child. It's the last thing you're going to witness as your old self before I subject you to a new life..." he purred.

He left the balcony room and shut the door behind him. Lilac was all alone, trapped in a cage and completely helpless as she waited for her friends to emerge from inside the palace and place their heads on the chopping block. She remembered how Natalya had once threatened to do this to Carol and Milla unless she cooperated. Now Memphis was doing it, but he wouldn't hesitate. He'd allow the executioner to get it over with. She would lose her two best friends in the world, the parents of one of her best friends and her surrogate mother. And to think she'd never even get the chance to say goodbye to them. She wanted so badly to cry some tears for Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Natalya and bid them farewell as their fates came to claim them. No...she didn't need to cry for them or say goodbye to them. They weren't going to die! She was going to save them and she would beat Memphis once and for all! And Memphis had made a terrible mistake. Bringing her straight to the balcony rail. He thought she couldn't climb over it because she was in a big bird cage. But Lilac knew that she could do it. Her hands and feet could pass between the bars. She knew just what to do.

"Hang on my friends, I'm coming to rescue you!" she announced to herself.

She reached through the bars with her hands and gripped the balcony rail. She then passed her legs through the bars so her torso was firmly pressed up against them and using her arms, she pulled herself forwards. Her body pressed against the cage, shifting her weight to the front end and tilting it forward until she could now stand up slightly on her own two feet. The cage tilted so now the bottom was facing up and the top was leaning against the rail. It was fortunate for Lilac that the cage had been built for strength, not weight. The cage was surprisingly light as it rested against her head and shoulders. She then gripped the bars beside her and picked up the cage. She couldn't get out of it for the space was too narrow for her whole body to pass through but she was now standing and carrying the cage at a horizontal angle from inside. All she had to do was throw herself over the balcony and the cage would surely smash to pieces. But would the fall kill her? No, the cage would protect her from the impact. It would be a shield for her. Plus Memphis had jumped from this height without injuring himself. She could do it too. Lilac decided to wait until her friends came out the palace before she made her move. It would be better to save them at the last minute for she knew she wouldn't have time to get to them before they were let out of the dungeon to be beheaded.

She waited for a whole minute before her friends eventually emerged from inside the palace. Lilac found herself staring at Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Natalya, Neera and Zao for the first time in a whole week. She felt like she wanted to cry happily for them but now was not the right time. Her friends were bound and gagged with their hands tightly tied behind their backs and a red scarf tied around their mouths. Typical of the Red Scarves to do this. Natalya was being escorted by two ninjas holding her by the arms. She looked tired and woozy. She didn't look as if she could even stand up properly as if she was drunk. It sickened Lilac to see what had been done to her former enemy. How could Memphis allow his former girlfriend to be drugged like this?! She hoped that the serum wouldn't last long and Natalya would be alright again soon. The Red Scarves stood to attention as Memphis emerged from behind them and stood at the front of the stage. Timothy Turtle was with him too. Presumably, Memphis wanted him to bear witness to what was about to happen too. Lilac noticed that he looked uncomfortable and even a little sad for her friends as he saw them being lined up. The turtle whom she thought was her enemy was not her enemy at all now. He'd been persuaded to work for Memphis and he regretted it. Lilac would allow him to apologize to her if she got the chance. She glanced at the stage and observed all around it. As Memphis had promised, a whole crowd had gathered around to watch the scene before them. They had no choice but to obey. Memphis had threatened to destroy their houses if they dared to refuse. He wanted them to watch, he wanted to show them how serious he was and why you shouldn't try to cross him. Memphis waved his energy conductor in the air and made the grand announcement.

"My dear faithful subjects!" he called out confidently, "You're all gathered here tonight for a very special occasion! You know that executions were banned years ago right? Well as Mayor of Shang Mu, I've made them legal again. You're about to witness the execution of your former mayor and six filthy traitors who want to ruin the peace of this kingdom!"

The crowd didn't know whether to be thrilled or horrified. They were horrified deep down but they weren't sure if Memphis would appreciate that from them.

"And our first Avalician to be beheaded tonight will be somebody I'm sure you won't miss at all." said Memphis, "Natalya the Lead Scarf herself. She's tried to overthrow me and take over the kingdom herself..."

"Mmmat's mmmot mmmrue!" Natalya shouted from behind her gag.

"...so she's been sentenced to death for treason and attempted takeover and murder." Memphis continued, "Scarves, put her head on the block!"

The crowd watched, unsure if they should be worried for Natalya or not. On the one hand she was the leader of the Red Scarves but they'd heard rumours that she'd turned good. Maybe she'd come here to try and stop Memphis and save Shang Mu? They didn't know but that thought made them doubtful over whether the dragon's death was to be celebrated or pitied. Unable to fight against the serum weakening her body, Natalya couldn't do anything as the Red Scarves holding her forced her onto her knees and placed her head on the chopping block. Lilac watched in horror. It was funny to think that she was worried for somebody who had once tried to kill her. But Natalya wasn't her enemy anymore. She was her surrogate mother, the closest thing to a parent she was ever going to have now Dawn and Stephen were gone. She couldn't lose her. The executioner raised the axe, ready to slice Natalya's head clean off of her shoulders. The dragon squirmed but it was useless. The serum had made her too weak. She was helpless as the axe was ready to fall. Carol, Milla, Miguel and Lela all cried out muffled cries for Natalya. Neera stood open eyed, sickened by what was going to happen and Zao had turned his head away, unable to watch the end of Natalya's life. Lilac had to act now before Natalya was beheaded. The executioner took aim and was about to swing until Lilac leaned against the rail and sprang up into the cage with her feet. She tumbled straight over the edge and screamed as she plummeted down to earth. The crowd gasped as they watched a huge golden birdcage fall from the balcony and land...straight on top of the executioner. There was a bone-crunching crash as metal and dragon slammed on top of the unfortunate ninja and flattened him like a pancake onto the stage floor. The crowd all gasped in surprise and Memphis and Timothy wheeled around to see what had happened. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Neera and Zao all gasped behind their gags, surprised at what had happened. Natalya turned her head and her eyes widened as she saw somebody pick herself up from the broken remains of the cage that had imprisoned her. Lilac had survived the fall just as she expected and the cage had broken. The executioner was more broken than the cage was though. He lay there still and didn't move. Lilac brushed herself off and smiled cheerfully at her captive friends.

"Hi guys! Thought I'd "drop in" to say hello to you all!" she cried.

"MMMIMMMAC!" the bound and gagged prisoners squealed in delight.

"What in the name of the Kingdom Stone?!" Memphis shrieked, unable to believe his eyes.

"Memphis, I'd like to have a few VERY stern words with you..." Lilac said coldly, her fists quivering in rage as she glowered at her evil uncle and prepared to attack...

* * *

 ** _Well guys, Lilac's here to save the day and Memphis's goose is cooked! Or is it? It's far from over my friends. Tune in next time as we get some "Happy Reunions"..._**


	7. Chapter 7: Happy Reunions

_Chapter 7: Happy Reunions_

The crowd that had been forced to watch the first public beheading in years began to cheer for the surprising arrival of Lilac the Dragon Girl. They hadn't expected this to happen at all but were grateful that it had happened. She had single-handedly saved them from having to watch a horrible sight before them and now she was here, she could challenge Memphis and bring him down once and for all so he wouldn't be able to rule over their kingdom any longer. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Natalya, Neera and Zao were all equally as ecstatic to see their friend again. They hadn't seen Lilac in over a week and now she was back and looking as tough, strong and determined as she ever was. The experience of being in exile hadn't faltered her a bit. Lilac smiled at her friends before glancing over at Memphis. Her eyes were full of hatred and her bound and gagged friends could see it for themselves. They had never seen Lilac look so hateful towards a single person before in their lives. Even Lord Brevon himself. They knew why though. Memphis had gotten her kicked out of their lives and banished to the wilds so she had every right to be angry at him.

"Memphis! Not only have you taken over this kingdom but you're responsible for getting me unfairly exiled and you just tried to murder my friends in front of all these people!" Lilac shouted, "You might think that you're untouchable due to being Mayor of Shang Mu now but don't think you're above the law! You're going down you sick, twisted murderer and when I'm through with you, you'll never ruin anyone else's lives again!"

"But…how did you do that…?" Memphis stammered, "How did you manage to climb over the balcony?"

"You probably should have known better than to put me in a cage that's lightweight." the dragon snorted, walking over to Natalya and untying her hands, "It was easy enough for me to just tilt the cage until I could pick it up from the inside and then hurl myself over. Should have known better than to put me so close to the rail Memphis." she added with a sneer in her voice.

She untied Natalya and took the gag off of her mouth. The elder dragon, still woozy from the serum she'd been given, forced herself onto her feet and she smiled weakly at her adopted daughter. How great it was to be seeing her sweet little face again after a whole week.

"Lilac…you came back!" she spluttered.

"Of course I came back!" Lilac exclaimed, "I couldn't just let Memphis do this to you! It was fortunate for me that I ran into a wizard during my time in exile. I saw what Memphis did to you with his magic and that tempted me to come back. It's good to see you again."

"As it is for me my dear." Natalya said, smiling at the teen-dragon.

"How do you feel?" asked Lilac, "Can you stand?"

"I think the serum's wearing off…" Natalya mused, "I'm beginning to feel stronger now. Those serums don't tend to last very long, especially in small doses."

"Good. Then you can untie my friends while I give Memphis a royal butt-whupping." the Heroine of Avalice said, "I'll do it for mom, dad and you especially."

"Make him suffer…" the elder dragon said coldly, glaring at Memphis with her hard, steely red eyes.

Lilac smiled grimly at her foster mother. She would indeed make Memphis pay for everything he'd done to her and what he had attempted to do to her friends. With the plan set, Natalya ran over to the captive Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Neera and Zao while Lilac boosted towards Memphis. Natalya could feel her strength gradually beginning to recover. She could run without feeling tired and she could feel her muscles bulging as she sprinted. She was glad that Memphis hadn't given her a bigger dose of the stuff or she'd be tired and weak for much longer than this. She even wondered if seeing Lilac was helping her regain her strength. Now she was here, Natalya felt as if she could take on Memphis bare-handed and win. She socked the Red Scarves standing by the captives in the face and sent them reeling backwards. It wasn't as hard as normal but it was hard enough to make them back away and to give them great pain. Natalya's full strength would return very shortly. Now the ninjas were out of the way, Natalya used her claws to untie everybody before anybody could stop her. Once the cat, hounds, panda and red panda were freed, they ungagged themselves and leapt into action immediately. The Red Scarves had had enough of holding back and had decided to take action. Memphis wouldn't pay them if they didn't try to stop the captives right now. Natalya, Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Neera Li all ran towards the Red Scarves, ready to attack whereas Zao did the wise thing and stayed back from the battle. He didn't know anything about fighting so he'd be easy prey. He was content to watch as the big battle ensued before him. He hoped that the heroes would win so he could get back his kingdom and have Memphis jailed for his crimes.

Meanwhile, Lilac and Memphis had engaged in battle. The lilac-dragon had landed the first blow by Dragon-Boosting straight into Memphis and knocking him off his feet. He dropped his cane onto the stage and Lilac quickly scooped it up. If Memphis didn't have his Dark Stone Trump Card on him, he couldn't use it for blackmail purposes. She tossed the cane over to Zao and the mayor caught it. Zao knew what it was and that Memphis couldn't have it for everybody's sake. So in order to make sure he couldn't get it back, the mayor ran off the stage and disappeared into the crowd. Memphis growled viciously, angered at the fact he'd lost his energy conductor. He'd find it later though. For now, he had to deal with his impudent niece. Both dragons stood facing each other, ready to attack. Their fists were clenched and their eyes were narrowed into hardcore scowls that signified their hatred for each other.

"I should have corrupted you when I had the chance..." Memphis growled, "I shouldn't have left it for later. Well once I've beaten you and killed your friends, I'm NOT going to repeat that mistake! In fact, I'll just kill you instead! You're not worth corrupting anymore!"

"You will never win Memphis!" Lilac declared, "By the power invested in me, I'm gonna see you defeated and jailed for life murderer!"

"You're one to talk considering you just killed the executioner..." the fire dragon muttered, glancing over at the crushed body of the ninja that had been meant to execute Lilac's friends.

"Shut up!" the water dragon retorted, "That was an accident! I didn't mean to land on him and unlike you, I'm NOT at all happy with the fact I killed him! Whereas you have no love for what you did to your own brother and sister-in-law!"

"Why should I?" sniffed Memphis, "They insulted the dragon name. They had to die."

"So by your logic, I must insult the dragon name too..." Lilac said coldly, "There's only one person who gives dragons a bad name here Memphis. And it's YOU! You give our race a bad name by disgracing what we stand for and murdering innocent people, two of which were dragons! In the name of my parents and my friends, you'll stain the dragon name NEVERMORE!"

With that said, the angry dragon curled up into a ball and Dragon-Boosted towards her wicked uncle. Memphis jumped out of the way and left Lilac to whizz straight past him and off the stage. But the she-dragon wasn't off stage for long. The crowd watched intently as she jumped back onto the stage and ran towards Memphis. Eve Timothy watched, hoping that Lilac would win the fight. The fire dragon smirked at her and pursed his lips. Lilac had forgotten one compulsory fact about him...he could breathe fire. He blew a jet of flame out of his mouth straight at Lilac. The dragon screamed in agony as she was licked by the flames. She hadn't been in contact enough for her clothes to catch fire luckily. Her skin had been slightly burnt though and the burns began to sting furiously. Lilac winced as she rubbed her arms, giving Memphis the opportunity to run towards her and slug her directly in the gut. Lilac wheezed as the wind was knocked clean out of her by her uncle. It was made worse by the fact he'd punched her with his left hand, the hand that had a ring on his finger. She'd felt the ring dig into her skin with the fist as she was punched. The dragon double over, giving Memphis the perfect chance to drive his knee straight up into her face. Lilac's upper-body snapped backwards and she nearly tumbled over. Before she could steady herself, Memphis spun around on his heels and swung his left leg directly into his niece's cheek. Lilac was hurled over onto her side by the heavy slam and she spat out a drop of blood. The corner of her mouth had been cut. Lilac knew she was against a dangerous enemy. Her uncle was clearly well-trained and disciplined. He was as strong as Natalya was, maybe more so. But she'd beaten Natalya when she was her enemy so she could surely beat Memphis.

Lilac sat up and screamed as Memphis pulled out his flintlock pistol and pointed it straight at her head. Timothy gasped in horror. He remembered that gun. Memphis had threatened him with it and now he was going to shoot Lilac. He had to help her! He was closer than anybody else to Lilac so he had a chance of saving her. The turtle ran as fast as he could towards the cornered dragon, which looked more like a brisk walk than a run given his species. Lilac and Memphis didn't notice as Memphis pulled the hammer back and aimed.

"The big heroine of Avalice. Survives against alien warlords, my ex-girlfriend and mother nature herself...and yet she's going to met her demise via a bullet in the head." the fire dragon sneered, "You shouldn't have come back. You should have stayed in exile where you belong. And now you're dead."

"No!" Lilac whimpered.

Memphis ignored her and pulled the trigger. Lilac closed her eyes, expecting to feel the small but lethal bullet breaking through her skull and burying itself into her brain, finishing her off completely and swiftly. But she felt nothing. Her head hadn't been penetrated. She was alive! But how? She opened her eyes and saw Timothy standing in front of her with his shell facing Memphis. The bullet had hit his shell and ricocheted away, leaving a small mark where it had hit him. The old turtle looked unhurt. He smiled at Lilac, something that he had never done before. Lilac stared at him. She hadn't expected him to save her life. Memphis could only stare incredulously at his old sidekick, smoke still trailing out of the gun's barrel.

"Timothy? You...you saved my life." Lilac whispered.

"It's the only thing I've ever done in my life that I'm proud of." Timothy said kindly, "My life hasn't been a great one and I haven't done much worth smiling about. Saving the life of a dragon is the best thing I've ever done, especially for you."

"But...why?" Lilac asked, "You're working for Memphis! Didn't you want a dragon on the throne?"

"Not anymore..." the turtle muttered, "Not after what Memphis has done. You see...he persuaded me to work for him. By persuaded, I mean "forced me against my will to work for him". He said he was going to kill me if I didn't do what he told me so I had to. He told me to pretend to hate dragons so people would hate you and he'd be unsuspected. It tore my heart in two to have to do this to you Lilac. I hated EVERY word I said to you! I wanted to praise you, not chastise you! I love dragons! I worship dragons even! I didn't want your reputation ruined...and your exile was the worst day of my life. I felt terrible all week...and all because of Memphis forcing me to do this. I especially was disgusted to hear he murdered your parents. I refuse to look up to a dragon who kills other dragons. That isn't a dragon to me. I'm so sorry Lilac, sorry for every bad word I said to you and the part I played in your getting exiled...I never would have done this if Memphis hadn't got to me and forced me into this. I...I hope you can forgive me oh worthy dragon of great heroism..."

His face fell and he stared down at the floor, waiting for Lilac to react. The dragon could hardly believe her ears. Timothy actually LIKED dragons and had been putting up an act for Memphis the whole time? She had a feeling that he regretted what he did from seeing his body language earlier but she hadn't expected this. Lilac found herself feeling extremely sorry for the poor old turtle. How could Memphis make him do this?! How could he force the poor reptile to hate on the very creature he worships?! Lilac now regretted ever being hostile towards Timothy. He wasn't her enemy. He'd been a victim of Memphis's sick, twisted game the whole time. Lilac got up onto her feet and patted Timothy on the shoulders.

"I forgive you." she said softly, "I know what it's like to be forced against my will to do something. I've been a victim of the Dark Stone's evil power on two occasions...and it's not a pretty experience. I know how you feel Timothy, and that's why I can't hate you anymore. You didn't do all those things of your own volition. You did what you was told because you had no choice. That is why I forgive Timothy. And thank you for saving my life."

The turtle's aged, wrinkly old face curled into a smile of appreciation. It warmed his heart to think that a dragon had actually gone ahead and forgiven him for his wrong-doings. This day was becoming the best of his life already and it was already night time. He was about to hug Lilac until suddenly, a gunshot was heard and a bullet slammed into the back of Timothy's head. The turtle gasped, his eyes widening as he was stricken and he collapsed onto the stage just in front of Lilac, blood pouring out of the back of his head. Memphis had shaken off the shock of what had happened at last and had decided to kill Timothy for daring to deny him the right to murder Lilac. He'd aimed at the turtle's head and fired a single shot into his brain. The dragon gasped in horror and knelt down beside the dead turtle. Timothy's eyes were still open but his spectacles had fallen off. His eyes were empty and staring up at her as if they wanted to admire her for the last time. Lilac's eyes streamed with tears. What a senseless waste of life! How could Memphis do this to a poor old man like Timothy?! He'd finally managed to apologize for what he'd done to her and now he couldn't ever redeem himself further and live the rest of his life peacefully! Never in her life had Lilac thought somebody could possibly be so heartless.

"NO!" she wailed, "YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU?!"

"He defied me. He had to die." Memphis snorted, "I was planning on getting rid of him anyway. I just decided to put him out of his misery. And now I'm going to do the same to you!"

He then turned the gun onto Lilac and prepared to fire. But the dragon was ready for him. She jumped back in an amazing, graceful somersault just as the gun spat at her. The bullet struck the wooden floor of the stage and left a splintering mark where it had hit. Lilac landed just as Memphis prepared to shoot again. But she'd landed beside the chopping block and had thrown herself behind it just as Memphis shot at her again. The fire dragon fired madly at his niece, bullets pinging harmlessly off of the chopping block until finally, the gun went click. He'd run out of ammo. Memphis was about to reload his pistol but Lilac emerged from behind the chopping block and spun towards him in her trademark Dragon Cyclone attack. She swatted the pistol out of Memphis's hand and into the crowd. The crowd seized it and began passing it along between them so the gun would be as far away from Memphis as possible. He'd never get it back now. The dragon cried out as his younger opponent bombarded him with tendril whips and knocked him down onto the floor. Before Memphis could stand back up, Lilac pinned him down with her knee on his chest and she punched him heavily in the face. The punch felt surprisingly hard coming from a sixteen year old girl. Natalya had taught her well it seemed. Memphis cried out as he was hit and Lilac drew her fist back for another punch.

"This is for mom!" she screamed.

She punched him between the eyes, making Memphis scream in pain.

"This is for dad!" she shouted.

She then punched him on the nose, sending spasms of pain flaring through her wicked uncle's face.

"And this is for Timothy!" she finished, punching him in the mouth.

Her punch was so hard that she'd caused Memphis's teeth to crack. One even came out but that ended up giving Memphis something to distract Lilac with. He spat the broken tooth into Lilac's eye, hitting it and making her shriek in agony. She clutched her eye and left herself wide open for attack. Memphis spat a few arrows of fire into Lilac's face, burning her and making her jump back in pain. Her face stung like mad and she felt that the pain wouldn't go away no matter what she did. Memphis picked himself up and wiped blood away from his mouth. Despite the heavy punches, he didn't look as if he was ready to go down yet. He had tremendous stamina like Natalya did. It would take a while before he gave into fatigue. Lilac rubbed her face, trying to ease the pain but Memphis didn't give her chance to recover. He rushed towards her and slammed a powerful punch directly in Lilac's face, deliberately aiming for her burns. The pain that swept over the girl's face was agonizing. Lilac shrieked like she'd never shrieked before. The only thing that had ever hurt her worse than this was Lord Brevon's torture she'd been given last year. She clutched her face, wincing and fighting back the urge to cry. Memphis chuckled and he whipped Lilac's face with his tendril. The dragon screeched in anguish again and Memphis added insult to injury by kicking her in the chin. This caused Lilac to fall over onto her back and grunt as she hit it. The girl was in total agony. Her face was screaming and her teeth were aching from the blow to the chin she'd received. She forced herself to get back onto her feet but just as she stood up, Memphis's tendril shot out from over his shoulder and the two tips of the tendril curled around the girl's throat. Lilac croaked weakly as the tendril began to strangle her. She tried to break free of it but the tendril was too strong for her. Her air supply was quickly beginning to diminish. Memphis gripped on tighter and tighter, grinning maliciously as he began to throttle his niece.

"Do be a good girl and say hello to Dawn, Stephen and Timothy for me..." he purred, "I'd love to know how they feel to seeing you joining them in death..."

Lilac fought desperately for air but none would come to her. The tendril had gripped her throat much too tightly. Her face was slowly turning blue as her air supply was diminished. Her head began to feel light and her eyes began seeing black dots as the darkness of unconsciousness, maybe even death, threatened to eclipse her life forever. But then just as it looked like it was the end for her, Lilac lashed out with her foot and kicked Memphis directly in the groin. The dragon's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he was hit. He let out a terrific yell of pain as Lilac's foot connected with his tender spot. He let go of Lilac and tried to hold in his agony. Tears poured out of his eyes as he winced. Lilac gasped for breath, relieved to still be alive. She had used the tactic because Memphis wouldn't have expected it. And it had saved her life. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Natalya and Neera had heard Memphis roar in anguish and were surprised to see him on his knees and clutching his groin with a screwed up face. Natalya felt like she wanted to laugh. This was the funniest thing involving Memphis she'd ever seen. Carol and Milla couldn't contain themselves and they burst out laughing. The Red Scarves, who were currently losing the battle due to Natalya's battle prowess and everybody else's combined efforts, watched despairingly as Memphis tried to get rid of the pain. Lilac got her breath back at last and she stood up, smirking at her uncle.

"Didn't see that coming did ya?" she sneered.

"I'll admit...I didn't..." Memphis grunted, opening one eye, "You're...so going to pay for that you little brat!"

"I dunno about that Memphis." Lilac crowed, "My friends look as if they've got the Red Scarves taken care of and you can't take me and my friends on all at once. I'd surrender if I were you uncle. I really would. It'd be less painful for you."

"Me?! ME?! Surrender? To YOU?! You're delirious..." the fire dragon retorted, picking himself up and glaring at Lilac, "If I can't beat you like this...then I'll just have to let you burn!"

The Red Scarves knew that now was a good time to run for it. They had a feeling that they knew what Memphis was going to do next. They all knew that Memphis was a fire dragon and he was probably going to do something fire related. It was probably a good idea for them to get out of the way in case they got burnt too. Lilac and her friends watched as the hooded ninjas fled for their lives. Were they surrendering? Lilac had a feeling that that wasn't the case, not with what Memphis had said. The moment the scarves had left, Memphis pursed his lips and breathed out a huge fume of fire. He drew a huge circle with his flames and the entire stage was set alight by the blast. He had been aiming for the stage when he unleashed his attack. His plan was to burn everybody alive with the stage going up in flames and surrounding the heroes and heroines. Lilac and friends gathered together in a circle and cried out in fear as the fire surrounded them and trapped them in a huge ring of flames. The stage was made of wood, hence why it had burned so easily, and the flames would get nearer and nearer to the trapped heroes until it finally consumed them whole. Memphis jumped back off of the stage and watched, pleased to think that his victims were all going to die. They couldn't escape the ring of fire, not unless they wanted to burn themselves alive. The crowd just watched in total horror, wishing they could do something to help the trapped heroes. But what could they do? There was no water around and no fire extinguishers to use to put the fire out. They could only watch as their only hope of being rid of Memphis was about to receive a spectacular cremation.

Inside the fire ring, Lilac began to sweat like crazy. It was getting hard to breath and she felt hot all over. Carol and Milla clutched her tightly as if their lives depended on her. Miguel and Lela hugged each other, Natalya hugged Lilac, Carol and Milla and Neera placed her hands together as if in a prayer. They were all done for. They couldn't escape as the wall of fire began to close in on them.

"Oh Lilac! We're done for!" Carol exclaimed, "And to think you only just got back too!"

"I can't see anywhere outta this one!" Lilac cried, "Not unless I wanna leave you all behind!"

"Don't leave us!" Milla whimpered, "I don't wanna die without you!"

"I'm not gonna leave you guys." the dragon promised, "I couldn't do that. I could never leave you to die. I'll just accept my fate and die with you."

"That's very nice of you dear." said Lela, "Though I wish there was a way out of this mess..."

"If only Memphis hadn't confiscated my Ice Sceptre..." Neera muttered, "I could just put the fire out!"

"That's Memphis for you, he leaves nothing to chance!" Natalya sighed, "We maybe doomed...but at least we won't be dying without Lilac." she added, smiling at her adopted daughter.

"I'm glad to be back with you all as our death is coming." Lilac said sweetly, "Much better than dying alone like I thought I was going to..."

Carol and Milla nodded, sharing Lilac's statement. They'd rather die with her than without her as well. And it seemed that wish was going to be granted. They would all die together on the stage that was going to be their graves earlier anyway. They'd simply exchanged one death for another. But their deaths weren't going to come at this time. Just as the heroes had gathered together and prepared to receive the flames that were coming for them, something miraculous happened. The flames...went out! The heroes suddenly stopped feeling hot and sweaty and began to feel the chill of the night once again. They opened their eyes and looked around incredulously. Why had the flames gone out? Who had done it? Memphis in particular looked as if he was about to faint. How had this happened?! None of the people on stage knew magic did they?! Everybody soon received the answer for a robed figure descended down to the ground and revealed himself to everybody. It was Clifford the Old Sage! He and General Gong, who was in the crowd pushing and shoving his way to the stage, had made it to Shang Mu in the nick of time and Clifford had seen to using a spell to put Memphis's fire out. He had just saved everybody's lives. He touched down on the stage and smiled at the gobsmacked Avalicians. Lilac's face brightened at the sight of him whereas Carol looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide open and she could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"Clifford!" Lilac cried, "Oh thank goodness you came!"

"Don't thank me, thank Gong." said Clifford warmly, "He tempted me to come home. He'd come to the Forest of Shards looking for you and he found me instead. He tempted me to come back and in return, he's going to have the leaders overturn my exile so I can live in civilization again."

"It's a good thing I did too or you'd have been burnt alive!" Gong cried.

"Indeed, thank you so much." said Lilac appreciatively.

As for Carol, she ran towards her grandfather and threw her arms around him. Her eyes were streaming with happy tears. She hadn't seen him in five whole years and now she was seeing him for the first time again! First Lilac returns and now her grandfather has done so. It seemed today was on her side.

"Grandpa!" Carol exclaimed, nuzzling his chest with her cheek.

"Hello my darling granddaughter." Clifford said, running his hands up and down Carol's back, "I've missed you so much. It's good to see you again my darling..."

"I've missed you too grandpa!" Carol cried delightedly, her tears of joy running down her cheeks, "I haven't seen you in five years! It's so good to see you again! Now you're back, I'm never losing you again!"

"And since Gong's going to help get my exile overturned, I won't lose you again too dearest Carol." Clifford said softly.

Lilac just watched the scene with her hands over her heart. What a wonderful sight this was. Her best friend was reunited with her grandfather at long, long last. She imagined the wildcat was having the time of her life tonight, being reunited with her and Clifford both at once. But now was not the time for celebrating. Memphis had jumped onto the stage in a snarling fury, his eyes as fiery as the ring of flames that he'd made earlier.

"Who the heck are you?!" Memphis snarled wildly, "And how dare you interfere with my business you old hag!"

"My name is none of your business villain…" the old wildcat said coldly, "And I do not approve of the fact you just tried to murder my granddaughter, her best friend Lilac and their other friends. You can either surrender now or face a magical punishment from me."

"You think for a minute that I'm going to be intimidated by mere magic tricks?" Memphis scoffed, "I've dealt with wizards before. They're all show and flashing lights but don't have the fighting prowess to back it up. I'll snap you in two before you can wave your magical staff. And also, I doubt you'll be able to take on me and the whole of the Red Scarves single-handedly…" he added, smirking as Spade and his goons stood behind him.

"I know full well that even magic won't stop you…" Clifford murmured, "Dragons were always more powerful than even the mightiest of wizards. And we do seem to be outnumbered. But that doesn't matter to me…"

He then suddenly lifted up his staff and waved it around. Glowing balls of energy began to circle around the staff as he waved it. The crowd watched, spellbound by what the old sage was doing. Memphis watched, not sure what to expect and unsure if he dared to come close to him.

"I'm not sure if you'll appreciate this Lilac…but we have to get out of here." the wizard cat said, "You look a little banged up and I doubt you'll keep going for much longer in a fight. That and we're outnumbered and this fire dragon might try and burn you alive again. And my magic isn't really for fighting so I'll be of no help against that fire dragon. It'll be wise for us to retreat and rethink our methods."

"Take us to Shang Tu!" Lilac cried, "We can all heal ourselves with The Magister's healing spa and let him know what's happened! Then we can attack again!"

"A good idea dragon girl!" Gong cried approvingly, climbing up on stage to join the Avalician heroes.

"Shang Tu it is then." Clifford said, "Here…we…GO!"

He then banged his staff down onto the stage and out from underneath him, a big bright flash exploded out and engulfed the heroes on stage as well as Clifford himself. Zao had run through the crowd with Memphis's cane still in his hands while everybody had been talking and now he'd climbed up onto the stage and hurled himself at the flash of light just as it engulfed everybody. He felt that it would be wise if he disappeared too. If Memphis's cane was out of Shang Mu, he'd have a harder time getting it back. Also he could hide there until the whole thing was over. The bright flash emitted for a few seconds, causing everybody to shield their eyes from its blinding, dazzling glow. Then the flash died down and the only thing that was left from it was the dead body of Timothy, burnt and charred beyond recognition by the earlier fire. Lilac and friends had disappeared into thin air completely. They were gone and probably over in Shang Tu right about now. Memphis stared at the empty stage and he let out a bloodcurdling roar of fury that echoed all around the kingdom. The crowd recoiled, intimidated by the dragon's anger.

"DAMN THAT WIZARD! DAMN THAT DRAGON! DAMN THEM ALL!" Memphis raged, "THEY'RE RUINING EVERYTHING! AND I'VE WORKED SO HARD TO GET THIS FAR! I AM **NOT** LOSING TO THEM NOW!"

He turned around sharply and pointed at Spade.

"Spade! Get the Red Scarves onboard the airships! It's time to deploy our Sky Battalion!" he barked, "I heard Lilac telling that wizard to teleport him to Shang Tu so we shall take flight and lay waste to the kingdom! We'll take them with it if we're lucky!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Spade said, saluting his new boss, "Come on Scarves, let's mobilize!"

The hooded ninjas didn't wait to be asked twice. They all headed off in the direction that Zao's Sky Battalion was located with Memphis leading the way and Spade just behind him. The heroes hadn't won the night yet. They were still going to be killed once the fleet took to the skies and came flying over Shang Tu with missiles firing from up above. He was still on top. Once the fleet arrived at Shang Tu, the kingdom would receive no mercy from the fire dragon. It would be nothing more than a pile of scrap marking where a kingdom had once stood...

* * *

The Magister was sitting along in his throne room, waiting for his Sky Battalion to take flight so he and Dail's plan could begin. He was also waiting for any possible responses from Neera Li or General Gong. The sun had set and Memphis would be on his way to destroy his kingdom just for ignoring his demands to fuse kingdoms with Shang Mu and give him a big kingdom to rule over. He didn't want to lose his beloved kingdom, not now. Not after what it had been through. If only Lilac hadn't been exiled! This whole business would probably be over by now! He'd be sleeping peacefully in his bed with no worries whatsoever. But he couldn't sleep tonight, not with the worries of Memphis destroying his kingdom plaguing him. he then suddenly leapt in his seat as a bright flash suddenly lit up the dark room. What was happening? Something magical? He was sure it was magic. It couldn't be anything else. He soon got his suspicions confirmed for the light died down and before him stood Clifford the Old Sage and a very surprising sight. Lilac, Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Natalya, Gong, Neera and Zao all stood before him, looking quite pleased to see him. Gong and Neera ran over to their alarmed leader whereas the others just bowed to him.

"Hello Magister." Lilac said politely, "It's good to see you again."

"Especially since now you know she's innocent." Carol added.

The Magister could barely believe his eyes. He hadn't expected Lilac to be found THIS quickly! But he was glad to see her. Never in his life had he been so pleased to see anybody in his life. Tonight might end well after all. He regained his composure and stood up from his throne, bowing towards Lilac and her friends.

"It is a pleasure to have you back dragon blood..." he said, a hint of delight in his otherwise flat tone of voice, "So what made you come back?"

"It was me sir." Clifford said, bowing to The Magister, "Lilac wanted to see her friends again so I gave her my staff and told her to ask it if she could see her friends and then dunk it in the lake. The lake showed her that her friends were captured so she ran back to Shang Mu to save them. I even saved her and her friends from being burnt alive by Memphis."

"How fortuitous..." The Magister said brightly, "I must thank you for tempting Lilac to come to us in our darkest hour Clifford. And to save her life and the lives of her associates is even better. Just for those good deeds, your exile sentence is hereby overturned, just like Lilac's is."

"I second that motion!" Zao piped, "Even if I'm not mayor anymore, I still second it!"

 **5+ SECOND IT**

"I was actually going to ask you two about that." Gong said sheepishly, "I tempted Clifford to help us stop Memphis in exchange for his exile being overturned. Looks like I don't need to convince you two. I bet Dail would say the same thing if he was here too."

"It doesn't matter if Dail's here or not." the blue-robed Avalician noted, "If the decision is 2 out of 3, the decision is final regardless if it's not unanimous. Me and you both agree to overturn Clifford's exile so therefore, he is exiled no longer. Just like Lilac is no longer exiled too. I don't know why we ever exiled him..."

Clifford's face lit up with pleasure. He wouldn't have to live alone anymore. He could be back with his granddaughter and catch up on the five years he'd missed with her. How lucky for him that Lilac had gotten exiled otherwise this wouldn't have happened. He bowed graciously to The Magister and Zao.

"Thanks ever so much for your generosity sirs." he said kindly, "I can't thank you enough for this."

"And we can't thank you enough for giving Lilac a reason to help us and for saving her life." the Magister said happily.

"Me too." Zao said, "By the way Magister, we managed to swipe Memphis's energy conductor." he added, showing it to the robed man with the stern and serious eyes, "It's got the Dark Stone's Energy in it and he used it to blackmail Neera into telling him that you sent her to arrest you. So he's going to target your kingdom first with my Battalion. I thought you'd keep it well out of harm's way." he finished, holding the cane out for the blue-robed ruler to take.

The Magister nodded and took the energy conductor. It was just as he'd expected. Memphis was indeed going to target his kingdom first. His plan would go as planned after all. He knew the way from Shang Tu to Shang Mu and thus, he could set up his ambush along with King Dail. He was likely taking off and flying to Jade Creek right now. He'd be doing the same shortly. The Magister turned to Gong and handed him the energy conductor.

"Put this in the vault." he ordered, "Make sure it stays there forever."

"Yes sir!" Gong said loyally, lumbering off to store away the illegal weapon full of deadly energy that had to stay contained for life.

"As for the Sky Battalion Zao, me and Dail have planned on how to deal with it..." The Magister said, turning to the short-sized red-panda.

While Clifford, The Magister and Zao had been talking, Lilac now took the perfect moment to give her friends a proper greeting and for her friends to give her a proper welcome back. Carol had thrown her arms around Lilac in a tight embrace that felt as if she didn't ever want to let go of her. Happy tears once again streamed down her face. Lilac hugged Carol back, happy to be in her arms again for the first time in a whole week. It felt much longer than that since she'd last seen her.

"Oh Lilac, I've missed you so much!" Carol cried, "I really, really missed you! I was really sad an depressed without you all week but now you're back and your exile's overturned now everybody knows you're innocent! I'm never gonna lose you again just like my grandpa!"

"I've missed you too Carol." Lilac said, shedding tears herself, "Every day that passed by, I missed you and the others. I'm so glad to see you again Carol. It wasn't the same without you..."

The two allowed each other a moment to hug and cry over each other before they broke up the embrace and Lilac moved onto Milla. The dog threw herself into the dragon's arms, her tail wagging so furiously that it looked as if it was about to come off. Milla had a big smile of joy on her adorable face as she hugged her draconian friend.

"I'm so glad you're back Lilac!" Milla squealed, "I really missed you too! I especially missed you tucking me into bed and singing me lullabies at night! I was really worried about you while you was in exile too! I'm glad you're OK!"

"Thank you Milla." Lilac said appreciatively, "I really missed you too. I missed you as much as missed Carol. I was worried for you too, wondering how you and Carol were coping without me. It's good to be back with you two at last."

She stroked Milla's hair, making the dog smiled with pleasure for she loved that feeling. Now she'd greeted Milla, she moved onto her parents. Miguel and Lela both embraced Lilac as if she was their long lose daughter who had come back to them rather than a friend of their own daughter. They both seemed very happy to see her again.

"Oh Lilac, your return has made our daughter's night..." Lela said, tears of joy in her eyes, "I'm so glad you came back. It's been very hard living without you."

"The house was very empty without you in it. And Carol and Milla were very sad without you. We're glad to see them happy again we're glad to see your smiling face again." Miguel added gleefully.

"Thank you so much Mr. and Ms. Basset." Lilac said graciously, "It means a lot to me to hear you both say that. I missed you both as well while I was away. It's good to see you both again."

Miguel and Lela beamed, pleased to hear Lilac saying that about them. It made them feel good that Lilac was so pleased to see them as well as Milla. Lilac then broke up the hug and walked over to the last person she needed to embrace. Natalya. She had already greeted her earlier but now was the time for a proper greeting. Natalya had tears in her eyes as her adopted daughter walk up to her and embraced her warmly. To Lilac, it felt like she was hugging her mother once again. And given her adoption at Natalya's hands, she was hugging her mother in a way. Natalya wrapped her arms around Lilac and hugged her tightly.

"Oh Lilac...I'm so glad to have you back in my arms again." Natalya whispered, "When you were sentenced to exile, it felt like I'd lost the only part of my late best friend that I had left. It felt as if Dawn was gone for good with you gone. Now you're back, I'm never losing you again!"

"I'm never losing you again either Natalya." Lilac said sweetly, "I really missed you while I was gone. To me, it felt as if I'd lost the one piece of my mom that still exists. Given your ties with her, being away from you felt like being away from her at the same time. Now we're reunited and we can keep mom alive again, together!"

"Yes my sweet little Lilac, together!" the elder dragon cried, "Oh tonight has been the best night since your sentence was given! I'm so happy right now that I feel like I could just burst!"

"Me too." the younger dragon quipped, "I thought I'd never be happy again, but yet here I am. Back with my friends and feeling as if my problems are all over! Even in your darkest hours...it seems that happiness can find you."

"It certainly is the case for me." Carol put in, "So Lilac...how did it feel being in exile?"

Lilac broke up the hug with Natalya and turned to fave her feline companion. Carol had a feeling she knew the answer wasn't going to be happy.

"It was horrible..." the dragon announced, "I was living like a tramp in the wilds. I had to steal food crates from trucks in order to survive and build myself a shelter to live in. I felt desperately lonely too. I wanted nothing more than to be back with you guys and for a few days, I often cried myself to sleep. I really hated it out there in the wilds having to steal to eat and with nobody to talk to. I began hating the people of the three kingdoms and condemning the Magister, Zao and Dail for passing this sentence. But now I know that they were all manipulated and played for a fool...I no longer have any ill will against them."

"That sounds bad...but glad you don't hate anybody anymore." the wildcat said brightly.

"Indeed. And I think I learnt an important lesson from this experience..." Lilac murmured, "I think what really helped Memphis fool everybody into thinking I was bad...was my heavy desire to build myself a good reputation. I was doing good things for the wrong reasons. I shouldn't have focused so much on my reputation. That added fuel to Memphis's flames. It was easier for Memphis to fool everybody since I was all about my reputation. What I should have done...was do the right thing. I should focus less on my reputation and more on doing the right thing. Doing the right thing is what being a hero is all about, not getting good praise and smiling faces. I've learnt that I won't make everybody happy and I will have enemies. But it doesn't matter...as long as I'm doing the right thing and showing my appreciation for my friends, family, my life and most importantly...my world."

The Avalicians all nodded agreeably, thinking that Lilac had an excellent point. The experience had clearly made her a much wiser dragon. A dragon who would be wise enough never to let Memphis's sick games take over her life anymore.

"That Lilac, is a very good point." Natalya said approvingly, "I didn't adopt you just to give myself a good image. I adopted you because deep in my heart, it was the right thing to do. For Dawn and for you and also for myself. My life had been ruined and fixing it by becoming your surrogate mother was the right thing to do."

"And we didn't stop Brevon just to make names of ourselves." Carol added, "We stopped Brevon because that was the right thing to do! So I think you're totally right Lilac! And that just makes you a better dragon than Memphis ever will be!"

"Memphis is no dragon...he's a monster. Nothing more..." Lilac muttered bitterly, "And he's still in charge of Shang Mu and is probably plotting something big. We HAVE to stop him now before he ruins anybody else's lives!"

"Indeed so." Neera Li cut in, "Memphis is going to use Mayor Zao's Sky Battalion to destroy Shang Tu since the Magister sent me over to arrest Memphis. We have to stop that fleet before it gets to us. Luckily, our Royal Magister has taken care of that."

"Me and Dail agreed to deploy our own Battalions and take to the skies as well." The Magister suddenly announced, walking towards Lilac and friends, "We will ambush Memphis above Jade Creek and despite how risky it'll be, it's worth trying out. We have to do what we can before Memphis lays waste to my kingdom...and Dail's too since he's refused to answer his demands."

Lilac gasped in disbelief at what she'd heard. Memphis was going to carpet-bomb Shang Tu and Shuigang just for morning his demands?! Could her uncle possibly get even more wicked and cruel?! How could anybody even remotely think of doing something so horrible?! Lilac would never understand why people felt the need to be so cruel.

"Well...I didn't see that coming." the dragon murmured, "But if you're gonna fight Memphis with your airships, you can count me in! I remember last year where Dail's fleet attacked our ship and me, Carol and Milla single-handedly took down three of his ships through sabotage! Me and my friends will help take the fleet down and bring an end to Memphis's evil!"

"Is Mayor Egotist gonna cry if we destroy his precious airships?" asked Carol worriedly.

"Sacrifices have to be made dear Carol..." Zao said grimly, "I'll happily lose my fleet if it means I get my kingdom back and Memphis gets arrested once and for all. Before we go though, I have to say something to Lilac."

"To me?" piped Lilac, her face full of surprise and wonder, "OK um...what do you wanna say to me?"

Zao walked up to Lilac and bowed down to her respectfully.

"I'm...I'm so sorry that I ever doubted you when the whole business with the Dark Stone happened..." the red panda said, "This whole business in a way is my fault. If I hadn't doubted you then Memphis likely wouldn't have got his big idea to get you exiled. I'm responsible for all of this...and I'm sorry that I caused it Lilac. It was a big mistake of me and if there's anyway I can make it up to you, please let me know."

Lilac took in what Zao had said and thought that the panda had a good point. In a way, the whole mess was his fault. Memphis had gotten the idea to exile her because of Zao and Shang Mu doubting her allegiance. The dragon gave Zao a firm look that suggested she was still angry at him for being the starting flame to it all. But as she spoke, she didn't sound too angry at all.

"I'm a little mad that you dared to doubt me...but just know that I have no qualm against you." she said bluntly, "It's gonna take a while for me to forgive you Zao. I'm sorry to say that. But just know that I will do whatever I can to save your kingdom from Memphis. That is my way of thanking you for your apology."

"Thank you Lilac." Zao said, pleased with her reaction, "And I accept that it'll take a while for you to forgive me. I'll happily wait a year if it means that I'm on your good side still."

"Good." Lilac said with a brief smile, "Now my friends. Let us take the battle to the skies...and take down my wretched uncle for good!"

The Avalicians all cheered with delight, eager to get going and start the battle between the Sky Battalions. This was a fight they were looking forward to immensely and Lilac could hardly wait to see her uncle's face when she broke into his ship and laid waste to it whilst also taking him down once and for all.

"Beware Memphis...we're coming to get you..." the dragon muttered under her breath, "And you won't escape this time..."

* * *

Ten minutes had passed before the Shang Tu Sky Battalion finally took to the skies and began cruising off towards Jade Creek. The fleet consisted of many boat-shaped air ships that were heavily armoured, well equipped with weapons and fully operational. The airships were boat-shaped so that in case they crash landed into water, the passengers would be safe. They looked like flying sail boats with their big jet engines pushing them effortlessly through the sky. Each ship had a crew onboard. Said crew consisted of The Magister's royal army with General Gong in charge as usual. He was on the ship in front of the fleet as it flew smoothly through the clam, night sky. It had been agreed that he would be at the front leading the fleet and his ship would launch the first attack. Then the ones behind it would start attacking as well. The flagship of the Battalion, an airship that was twice the size of the rest of the ships in the fleet, was where Lilac and her friends were housed. The Magister, who along with Zao had opted to stay behind for they were too important to lose, had entrusted them with the flagship and had given them a crew to steer it. The team's job was to get onboard Memphis's ships and sabotage them so that they could take the fleet out and stop the fire dragon before he reached Shang Tu. The crew would handle the flying and shooting. The feeling of being on the fleet's flagship and cruising through the skies on a dark starry night was awesome and Carol could barely contain her excitement. She had loved flying in Zao's personal airship last year and was loving this flight just as much. The Basset family were huddled together, making the most of the peace before the fallout inevitably happened. Neera Li was keeping watch over everybody. She had a new ice sceptre in her hands. She had made it a priority to always have spare ice sceptres after the events of last week and now she'd lost her original, she had taken her first spare sceptre. She would make sure she didn't lose it this time. Clifford was keeping watch over Carol, and also admiring his granddaughter's enthusiasm. Lilac and Natalya were both stood to attention and waiting for the first sign of Memphis's fleet breaking through the night time clouds and unleashing all hell on them. Natalya was quite enjoying the flight. She'd never been in an airship before and she was enjoying the experience. Lilac was too but she didn't show it. Her face was deathly serious as if any hint of her original personality was being stored away for the time being. The only movement from the silent girl was her tendrils blowing in the wind. Carol ran up to Lilac, her face still full of glee. Clifford stood beside her as if determined to keep her close at all times.

"We're flying on the flagship of The Magister's fleet! Isn't that cool?!" Carol exclaimed.

"It's amazing indeed." Lilac said, allowing herself to smile at her best friend. She didn't have to stay serious for the whole trip after all, it was OK to be more relaxed and level-headed with her friends.

"The view's quite amazing, even if it is night time." the wildcat said, "I bet you could see all of Dragon Valley from up here on a sunny day."

"Yeah." the dragon said casually.

Carol could sense that Lilac was trying as best as she could to be more focused on the task at hand. Shifting uncomfortably, she decided to try something else.

"So um...you nervous?" Carol asked.

"No. Not at all." Lilac muttered, "I do not fear Memphis. I'm not worried about him at all. The only thing I feel about him is hatred."

"Ouch...that's pretty heavy." the tomboy feline said, "Given what he's done to you and all, it's understandable..."

She then placed a hand on Lilac's shoulder. The teen-dragon looked at her best friend and her expression softened.

"I'm really sorry about your parents and how your uncle murdered them." Carol said softly, "And I'm especially sorry that their deaths affected Natalya so badly. But know this Lilac. In this battle, I'm with ya all the way. I'll stop Memphis for you and Natalya. And I'll also do it for your mom and dad. I may not know them and never will...but I'll fight in their names for you buddy."

"Carol...you really are the best friend a dragon could ask for." Lilac replied sweetly, "Thank you so much. Mom and dad would be very flattered to hear that from you."

"Welcome Lilac, and your parents have my thanks." the teen-cat said brightly.

"You know Carol...I've spent much of my exiled life watching over you with my magic." Clifford said, butting into the conversation, "I didn't think I'd end up experiencing the life you and Lilac live right now. I've gotta say, your mother properly would have liked this. She was always adventurous like you are. Maybe more than I wanted her to be..."

"Yeah..." the wildcat said agreeably, "Say Grandpa? Do you...know what happened to mom at all?"

"I'm afraid not. All I know is that due to my connection with her via my magic, she is still alive." the old sage said.

"He told me that whilst we were together in exile." Lilac said, "Maybe when this is over Carol, we can start searching for your mom. Amanda the Wildcat Clifford said her name was."

"That's right." Carol nodded, "And that would be wonderful if we could find mom. Pity dad's gone so he can't see her reunited with me and you Grandpa...but it'd still be great to have her back."

"It would indeed dearest." Clifford said, patting Carol's back softly.

"Just a pity Lilac won't have any parents to look for..." Carol said solemnly, glancing at her best friend, "Milla got hers back, I got you back and we're gonna look for my mom and get her back. But Lilac...she has no parents...thanks to Memphis..."

"Memphis...is he the name of that fire dragon I saved you from?" the elderly wizard asked.

"He is and he murdered my parents when I was ten years old." Lilac muttered, "I'm happy that Milla and Carol still have their families but sadly, I have no family to get back like they did. I'm kinda the odd one out here and it does feel a bit unfair I'll admit. But in a way...I don't need to let it get to me. Because in a way...my friends are family. And now Natalya's acting as mom for me, I technically have a mom still. And because you're all family to me, it's why I'm so determined to win this battle. I'm fighting for all of you once the fight begins and I'm telling you now, it's an absolute honour to be fighting alongside you all."

Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Natalya and Clifford all smiled graciously, pleased to hear such kind words from their draconian friend. But before they could thank her, a crew member suddenly barked the words that they'd been waiting for.

"Sky Battalion sighted! Get ready for action!"

The heroes acted immediately. They all ran to the bow of the ship and waited for the first ships to begin bombarding each other. They glanced into the distance and they could see that a big shape was heading towards them, followed by several other big shapes. Shang Mu's Sky Battalion had arrived...

* * *

 ** _This is it ladies and gentleman! The biggest battle of Avalice's history that has nothing to do with Brevon is about to begin! Team Lilac vs. Memphis and the Red Scarves! Who will win this fight? Will Team Lilac soar high in the sky or crash land in defeat? Find out next time as we begin...the War in the Skies..._**


	8. Chapter 8: War in the Skies

_Chapter 8: War in the Skies_

Lilac would never forget the comparative feeling of nervousness that one experiences before a big battle finally begins. She had been in enough battles to experience such a feeling. She'd felt it so much that she'd become used to it and knew that it was merely warning her of what was to come. And it was a warning she took in and stored away as the fight commenced. The teen-dragon's eyes narrowed as Memphis's ships came into view, their bows slicing through the night time clouds that shrouded them. She recognized the ship that Zao had allowed her, Carol, Milla and Torque to ride on during the battle with Lord Brevon last year. It stood out from the other ships, much larger and with bigger sails than the rest of them. That was the flagship of the fleet. It was so obviously the flagship that Lilac would have been able to tell even if she'd never seen it before. Memphis had to be onboard that ship. A man with his ego and arrogance would never sell himself so low as to be in one of the smaller ships. He always had to have the best of everything whether it was golden crowns or diamond rings. Lilac had to get onboard that ship in order to take him down. The flagship wasn't going to be easy to get to though. It was surrounded on all sides by rows of battleships, all armed to the teeth and ready to attack. She had to remind herself that Zao's Battalion was renowned for being the best fleet on Avalice with the best weapons and strongest armour. This of course was why she and her friends were here, to sabotage the ships and make it easier for Shang Tu's Battalion to take them out. Dail's fleet would be coming soon to add extra firepower so for now, Lilac and friends had to do the best they could to keep the fight going until he got there.

The Shang Mu fleet was still approaching. The Shang Tu fleet was waiting for the right moment to strike. Because of the fleet's dark blue colour schemes, they would be harder to spot in the darkness and thus, that meant they had the element of surprise on their sides. They would wait until the red battleships got close enough and then start firing. It would be easier to destroy the first few ships if they were very close but let them get too close and the force of the explosion would damage the Shang Tu ships too. General Gong, who was in the ship at the front of the fleet, would time it just right in order to make the shots count. He spoke into an intercom system that projected his voice over to all of the ships in the fleet so everybody could hear him.

"Alright everybody, this is it! The battle's about to begin!" Gong barked, "The front row will launch the first attack! No other ship is to fire until I give the command! Got it?"

"Got it!" the crew of the other ships replied.

"Dragon girl! You and your team will launch into action once the whole fleet begins shooting!" the general ordered, "You are to make no move until then, understand?"

"Perfectly general." Lilac responded, "We await your orders."

"Good. Prepare yourselves, things are about to get heavy!"

The intercom then switched off and left all the ships in the fleet in silence. All they could do now was wait for the inevitable fireworks show to commence. It was if both fleets were holding their breaths and waiting to let it out again. Lilac inhaled and exhaled to keep herself calm and ready for the fallout to begin. Carol and Milla stood beside her and for comfort; they decided to hold her hands. The dragon welcomed the gesture, allowing her hands to be taken into her friends' hands. The three were now standing together, hand in hand and ready for action.

"You know girls…I don't think I've felt this anxious about leaping into battle since Lord Brevon…" Lilac murmured.

"Me too." Carol said grimly, "And Brevon was by far the bigger threat of the two. But one could say Memphis is more personal to you than Brevon is."

"Brevon was plenty personal to me. But he didn't kill my parents and cause my mom's best friend to go mad with grief…so yeah, I'd agree with you on that." the dragon said "Which is why Memphis has to be stopped and finally put away for his crimes."

"Will you try and stop me if I try to kill him Lilac?" asked Natalya, walking up behind the trio and looking down at them.

"If I'm allowed to kill Lord Brevon then I don't see why you're not allowed to kill Memphis…" Lilac said coldly, "But I'd rather he was arrested so he can actually pay for what he's done. If we HAVE to kill him though, I won't lose any sleep over it."

"And to think there were once lines we didn't cross." Carol snickered, "You really have changed haven't you Lilac?"

"A little. But I'm still the same spunky, fun-loving, heroic dragon you know and love." the young heroine said with a smile, "So don't worry, I haven't changed that drastically. I guess Memphis woke up a demon inside me that I didn't know I had…"

"Will it be gone when you beat him?" Milla asked curiously.

"It will be Milla." Lilac reassured the young hound, "It will be…"

She stared ahead at the oncoming Shang Mu fleet. On any other occasion, a sight like this would be awesome to her and she'd be admiring the view. But not this time. She was staring at the fleet with nothing short of disgust and hatred. How dare Memphis use something as magnificent as these airships against the good people of Avalice! She wouldn't feel sorry destroying the ships at all. It would be better if they were destroyed than being under Memphis's evil control. And Zao would be able to have them rebuilt and back in the sky again once this was over. But Lilac was looking forward to one thing only…taking down Memphis once and for all…

* * *

Over on the flagship of the Shang Mu Sky Battalion, Memphis was seated comfortably in his throne and waiting until his fleet arrived at Shang Tu and began bombarding the place. The flagship was built for luxury as well as combat as if it felt the need to make its occupants comfortable before the fighting began. Mayor Zao would usually have sat in this throne and used this ship for luxury sky cruises on a quiet day. Memphis was using the throne for comfort to prepare him for what was to come. His fleet was currently cruising over Jade Creek right now. It wouldn't be long before they reached Shang Tu. What a wonderful sight it would be to see that wretched kingdom flattened by missiles and reduced to nothing more than an ugly, blackened stain on the face of Avalice. It would serve that idiot Magister right for daring to say no to him and for sending that stupid priestess to try and arrest him. He wondered if Dail would give into his demands once he heard what had happened to Shang Tu. It would be too late for him though. He'd carpet bomb Shuigang anyway. In the end, it would be all wanton destruction that much Memphis knew, but he didn't care. If he couldn't rule all three kingdoms then he'd be happy to just rule Shang Mu and let the other kingdoms die screaming and crying as they were wiped from existence. Nobody ever said no to him and lived. And when the blue and green kingdoms were destroyed, Memphis knew what he was going to do after that. He'd have the people of Shang Mu build new kingdoms to stand in their places and they would be under his rule for he would own the two new kingdoms. Shang Mu would be one big kingdom that had a rule beyond what it had once had. The very thought made him smile gleefully.

"You shouldn't have refused me Magister…" he gloated, "Because in the end, I'll still get what I want. All you're doing is making it easier for me to have as much of Avalice under my control. Ha, ha, ha…and nobody, not even your precious Lilac is going to stop me for she'll perish in the resulting destruction I have planned for you too…"

His gloating quickly changed into a yelp of surprise as he heard an explosion just up ahead from where he was. The explosion was distant, meaning he hadn't been hit but it was still fairly close. Close enough for him to tell that one of the ships in the front row had been hit. What was going on? They couldn't possibly be under attack could they?! He soon got his answer for the intercom system switched on and a frantic voice from the stricken battleship began shrieking over it.

"Mayor Memphis! This is the crew of Battleship 1! We're under attack!" the voice squealed.

"What?! By who?!" Memphis demanded.

"It's hard to see…but I think it's another Sky Battalion!" the voice replied, "It seems The Magister isn't going down without a fight!"

The fire dragon gripped the arms of his throne angrily and gritted his teeth.

"I bet Lilac's wretched friends told him I was planning on attacking the kingdom with this Sky Battalion tonight…" he growled, "Well that doesn't matter. Our ships are stronger and more potent than the Magister's are. We can take him down…"

He then stood up in his throne and barked into an intercom system of his own that was mounted on the wall beside him.

"Attention Sky Battalion, this Mayor Memphis! We're being attacked by The Magister's Sky Battalion! Shoot that fleet down and leave nobody alive!" he bellowed.

* * *

Outside, the fighting had finally begun. Gong's ships had launched their attack, firing missiles at the front row of Memphis's fleet. The missiles hit home but the ships withstood the heavy attacks. They wouldn't last forever though and Gong knew it. A few missile attacks and the first row of defences would be destroyed. But he also knew that his ships wouldn't last against a few missile attacks from the opposing fleet. They would soon turn the tables against him if this kept up as a simple match between who could take each other out first with missile attacks. But the general wasn't just going to fire missiles at the fleet and take the ships out. Soon it would be Lilac and her friends' turn to move in and they would sabotage as many ships as possible to make it easier for the Shang Tu fleet to take out the Shang Mu fleet. Now the fighting had begun, Gong barked a command into the intercom.

"OK now, all ships have permission to fire!" he bellowed, "Bombard them and don't hold back!"

Now the sky above the fleet was lit up by huge smoke streaks and flashes of flames as missiles launched out of the battleship's gun turrets and whooshed through the air towards the opposing fleet. The missiles smashed down onto the ships, causing damage but not enough to bring any down. The crew onboard the ships yelled as their vessels shook from the impact. The entire Shang Mu fleet was now going to fight back with every ship in the fleet firing off missiles towards the enemy ships. Some missiles hit home whereas others collided with the opposing side's missiles and blew up in the sky. The Shang Tu fleet was making sure that as many missiles as possible failed to him them with the front defences focused more on hitting and the centre and rear defences more focused on defending. The result ended up in a pretty even match of firing missiles as many were destroyed before they hit home and very few found their targets. Most of the front defences on either side got hit but they weren't damaged badly enough to fall from the sky. They had a few dents and scorch marks on the paintwork but nothing too serious. One ship from the Shang Tu fleet managed to fire a missile and hit a Shang Mu ship directly in the sails. The sails caught fire and crumbled down onto the deck. It didn't matter though, the ships didn't really need the sails to fly. They were mostly for if the airship crash landed on water rather than flying. But the fire ended up panicking the crew and for a moment, the ship had stopped firing so it could put out the flames. This gave the Shang Tu Sky Battalion chance to bombard it with missiles until finally, it was destroyed in a huge, fiery ball of smoke and flames, killing the entire crew onboard and bringing the remains crashing down onto the ground below. Any witnesses were quick to report this to Memphis.

"We've lost Battleship 1 sir!" cried a crew member of Battleship 2 into the intercom system.

"Keep firing! Tear the fleet apart!" Memphis roared, "We are not going to lose this one!"

The order couldn't have been anymore sincere. The rest of the fleet took in Memphis's commands and began focusing on trying to take down as many ships as possible. They decided to try a tactic that whilst unusual, would prove to be effective. One ship aimed its gun turrets down and fired directly head-on at one of the blue ships ahead of it. The missiles screamed through the sky as they fired and they hit their target directly in the centre of the bow, causing a massive explosion that rocked the ship. Gong saw this from his own ship and began fearing for the crew's lives onboard. His own ship continued to fire relentless, missiles rocketing up into the sky and hitting other missiles to stop them finding their targets. The stricken ship fired back, now aiming directly ahead like its opponent had. But the red ship had wanted it to do that. The tactic was to keep alternating between angles to make your missiles less predictable when they came flying towards the opponent. The red ship now aimed upwards and fired a missile. The missile flew through the air in a neat rainbow arch and slammed down onto the deck of its already damaged opponent ahead. The missile destroyed much of the deck and brought down one of its sails. It looked as if somebody had just punched down on it with a giant fist up above. The crew frantically tried to fight back but the ship was too damaged. As the gun turrets aimed upwards and fired back, the red ship aimed one turret up to shoot at its opponents attacks and aimed another turret directly ahead. It fired at the blue ship and blew the bow section wide open.

The explosion tore a huge hole in the hull of the ship and wiped out many of its cannons. It also destroyed much of its interior, making it weak and unable to fly anymore. The ship hovered where it was for a few moments before it suddenly tilted forward and began to fall down to the ground below. Gong watched with horror as the fleet's first casualty crashed down onto the ground in a pile of scrap metal and fire. He was just glad this fight wasn't taking place above habited territory or the death toll would be horrendous. But he couldn't help but mourn briefly for the brave crew onboard the fallen ship. He had expected to lose at least one ship in the battle since Shang Mu's Sky Battalion was stronger than Shang Tu's. But now was the time to unleash his secret weapon. A weapon that not even Memphis could have foreseen. He switched on the intercom and spoke into it.

"OK Lilac and friends, this is your cue! Prepare for launch!" the panda barked.

Over on the flagship, Team Lilac had received the order and were now running into position. Lilac's face looked greyer than ever as she perched herself onboard a missile that was of different design to the ones the ships were firing at each other and weren't used for destruction, but for transportation instead. She was going to face her uncle once again. And this time, she was going to take him out. And her friends were beside her like always. She couldn't lose this one. Lilac, Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Natalya, Neera Li and Clifford had all positioned themselves on the transporter missiles and waited for the launch to begin. The brown coloured missiles would carry them over to the opposing fleet and then they would do the rest from there. They had to weaken the opposing fleet so that Shang Tu's Battalion would win. And best of all, Memphis wouldn't see them coming…until it was too late.

"This is it team. We're going into battle!" Lilac announced.

"And this battle is gonna end in sweet, sweet victory for us!" Carol declared.

"We'll take Memphis down and give Shang Mu its freedom back!" Milla squealed.

"Indeed we will girls." the dragon agreed, "Is anybody nervous at all?"

"I am…" Lela said worriedly, "I've never done this kind of thing before…"

"I had no idea life with you would be so adventurous!" Miguel cried out loud.

"It's OK to be worried Mr. and Mrs. Basset." Lilac reassured softly, "I'm worried too. But we can't let our fears drag us down."

"Fear can kill somebody faster than anything else…" Clifford agreed, "We must be focused at all times. That way, we will succeed and bring down our enemies."

"Oh yeah, you said it Grandpa!" Carol cried excitedly.

"Thank you Carol." the old wizard said brightly, "And do be careful out there my darling. I'd hate to lose you again…"

"Same here…" the wildcat replied, "I'd hate to lose anybody here."

"We're not losing anybody." declared Lilac, "We're all gonna survive and make it through to the end. And that's a promise!"

Deep inside though, the teen-dragon began to wonder if this was a promise she'd be able to keep. Would they survive? Would everybody make it out alive? She hoped with all her might that that would be the case. She'd just come back from a week in exile, she couldn't lose her life or her friends now. It would be the most horrible end for her, to die so soon after being reunited with her friends. It would also be horrible to lose any of them so soon after getting to see them again. They had to survive this. They would survive this! Lilac had survived much worse than a measly fleet of battleships. Lord Brevon was twice the villain Memphis ever was and she'd not only beaten him and his forces twice, but actually managed to take his life as well. She could win this battle and once the battle was over, her parents would be able to rest peacefully, safe with the knowledge that their killer had finally been arrested for his crimes.

For a moment, Lilac and friends were in silence, the sound of the fighting outside mostly drowned out by the heavily armoured walls of the launch canopy they were inside. Then suddenly, the world seemed to come to life again as the launch doors opened up and the missiles fired, their jets lighting up and pushing them out of their sockets into the open air outside. Lilac wasn't frightened at all. She knew these missiles would take her close to the airships and then stay until she had jumped off of them. They wouldn't crash into the ships and blow up, taking her with them. Miguel, Lela and Natalya had been informed of this before the launch so they weren't worried either. The missiles whisked the heroes out of the flagship in the fleet and carried them through the battlefield as more ships fired missiles at each other and explosions left and right flashed and banged in the night sky like fireworks. Lilac ignored them as she focused on her target, which was the first ship in the fleet. She would have liked to have immediately gone to the flagship and take Memphis out but then that would leave her friends at the fleet's mercy, hence why they had to take the other ships out first before getting there. The flight from the flagship to the first battleship was exhilarating. Lilac found herself feeling as alive as she had done when she and her friends did it the first time last year. It was thrilling moving so fast and feeling the wind rushing over them. It was like riding on a rocket only without the intention of going into space. Lilac eyed the flagship as her journey from her flagship to the battleships in Memphis's fleet was coming to a close. When Memphis was defeated, she and her friends would take command of the flagship and fly it back to Shang Mu, leaving Gong and his men to take the rest of the fleet out. That was the plan and Lilac would stick to it. There was no other way of getting back not without Torque and his Bi-Plane like there had been last year.

It took a few seconds for the missiles to arrive at the first battleship they came across. They stopped dead in their tracks and Lilac and her friends hopped off onto the ship. The ride had been very fun and exciting but now it was over, all fun and excitement was gone as their mission objective took over their minds. As soon as they touched down on deck, they were instantly greeted by some very furious looking ninjas in red hoods. It was the Red Scarves of course. Lilac had a feeling that Memphis would be using them to fly the ships in the Battalion. He couldn't possibly trust Shang Mu's own guards as they'd likely turn on him when they could. So it had been very logical to use the Red Scarves. The ninjas whipped out their various weapons ranging from sickles to maces and even nunchakus. They advanced slowly towards their enemies, ready to throw them overboard to stop them from doing anything to their ship. Lilac cracked her knuckles and smiled confidently.

"Hey scarves, I've got a message for your leader. It's my fist against your skulls!" she cried out viciously.

The dragon then suddenly sprinted towards the ninjas and walloped the first one in the head with a powerful punch. The punch was so hard that it took the ninja clean off of his feet and sent him hurling across the decks. Lilac then spun around in a Dragon Cyclone and walloped the second ninja as if she was a spinning top randomly crashing into something on its made twirl. The second ninja dropped his weapon as he was hit and sent hurling into the third ninja, knocking him down onto his back. The fourth ninja swung his sickle at Lilac, hoping to disembowel the traitor to his gang once and for all. But the dragon swiftly moved out of his way and elbowed him in the side of his head. The blow knocked him out instantly. The ninja hadn't even had time to try out in pain or even register the pain itself as his eyes closed and he hit the floor.

While Lilac was distracting the ninjas, the rest of her team ran over to a door set in the floor and opened it. They ran down inside the ship and rushed over to the gun turrets that were continuously firing missiles at their opponents in the fleet ahead of them. They knew what they had to do. Take them out and the ship would be useless. Then they could move onto another ship and do the same thing. Clifford stepped forward and he waved his staff around in the air. He muttered a few words as the staff began to glow and then suddenly, his staff turned into solid steel. It looked like a metal rod rather than a wooden staff now. He swung the staff and slammed it against the gun turret. This caused said turret to dent heavily and become dislodged from its socket. The staff was not only metal now but strong enough to take out just about anything he hit with it. It was one of the few spells that Clifford ever used for fighting. While he took some turrets out, Carol, Milla, Natalya, Neera, Miguel and Lela all worked together to take out the rest. Carol and Milla had done this along with Lilac last year so they had no trouble. The two used their respective skills, Wild Claw and Shield Attacks, to take out some turrets while Natalya used her clawing attacks to rip open a turret and then yank out its vital components as if taking it apart and attempting to rebuild it. Miguel and Lela kicked at a gun turret as hard as they could, kicking repeatedly and heavily to try and destroy it. They eventually managed to knock the turret out of its socket and send it falling down to the ground below. Neera Li froze some turrets and then smashed them with a wave of her ice staff. In a matter of moments, the gun turrets were destroyed. The ship was now defenceless. Satisfied, the team ran back up to the top deck just in time to see Lilac dropkick a ninja onto the floor and kick him across the deck. The team ran over to her.

"The turrets are all taken out Lilac!" Carol gasped, "We can move onto the next one!"

"Got it!" Lilac cried, "Come on everybody!"

The team followed her as the dragon leapt into the air and sailed gracefully over onto the ship next to the one they'd just sabotaged. Once everybody had made it onto the other ship, the Shang Tu fleet fired on the defenceless vessel they had just left. In a matter of seconds, it was destroyed and brought crashing down along with the first ship that had gone. The explosion rocked the ship Team Lilac had just jumped onto but did no damage. Lilac had watched the ship fall and then quickly glanced up to see how the fleet was doing. Her eyes were met with dismay as two more Shang Tu ships were blown apart by the red-coloured fleet. Their metallic bodies were reduced to shrapnel and debris as they rained down to the ground. The team had to speed up their progress in order to make it easier for the Shang Tu Battalion to win. But they couldn't sabotage every ship as quickly as possible and splitting up would only make it harder for them to take out a ship very quickly. But if they split up, it was possible that they'd take out more than one ship at a time even if it did take longer. Maybe splitting up would be a wise idea.

"OK." the dragon announced, "We can't all go together like this or we'll take forever. It'll be wise if we split up. Milla, you and your family go and sabotage a ship, Natalya and Neera will go and attack another, Clifford can handle himself and me and Carol will go as a team. Sound alright?"

"It'll take longer if less of us are on one ship taking out turrets but if we're all doing so on several ships simultaneously, we'll take more out than if we're all together." Neera agreed, "It's a good plan and the teams are adequate."

"Good luck out there everybody." Lilac said, "And please, be safe will you? I couldn't bear to lose either of you tonight."

"You be safe too Lilac." Natalya replied, "And if you get close to the flagship, don't hesitate to take on Memphis. After all, nobody told you when you could invade his ship. Do it when you think it's the right time to do so."

"I will do." the heroic Avalician said smiling, "Let's go everybody!"

With that said, Lilac, Carol, the hounds, Natalya and Neera all jumped over to another ship whilst Clifford remained where he was. Lilac was right, he would be able to take care of himself. He had a metal staff and he had magic powers. He didn't need a teammate. He watched as the Red Scarves on the ship came running towards him with swords and spears in their hands. Must all villains make their villainy look so obvious? They may as well be wearing T-shirts saying "We're villains!" Clifford allowed the Red Scarves to make the mistake of coming close to him before he spun his staff around and butted many of them in the gut. His magic wasn't usually used for fighting, but he himself was very adequate at fighting. His weak and frail appearance hid years of experience and great strength that he carried with him. He spun his staff around and brought it crashing down on a ninja's head. Another tried to stab him just as his comrade collapsed onto the floor but Clifford teleported and reappeared behind the ninja. He hit him on the head with his staff, knocking him out instantly. Another ninja came running towards him but the old wizard summoned a banana to his hand and peeled off the skin. He flung the skin onto the floor and treated himself to a hilarious sight as the ninja stepped on the slippery peel and sent himself skidding across the floor and into the sail mast of the ship. Clifford knew that his magical ability to summon food from nowhere would come in handy someday. Now that his opponents were down, he saw to taking out the ship's turrets.

While Clifford had his ship under control, Natalya and Neera Li stayed put on the next ship while the Lilac, Carol and the Basset family moved onto another one. The dragon and panda took a moment to appreciate the irony of working together instead of fighting each other for a change. They hadn't forgotten their duels with each other in the past. Now they were on the same side, raw strength and ice working together to take out the ship's weapons and render it defenceless. They had some ninjas to deal with first though. The Red Scarves came running towards them, all wielding bladed weapons. Natalya smirked, eager to show her former comrades why she had once been their boss. The dragon sprinted at a terrifically fast speed towards the Red Scarves and was quick to jump in the air and unleash a volley of kicks onto them, bringing them all down in one fell swoop. Neera watched, amazed as ever as to how powerful and fast the once-evil dragon was. She was so glad that Natalya was no longer her enemy though. It felt good to have a woman as powerful as her on her side. Natalya ran towards another ninja and ducked as he swung his katana at her. She straightened up and uppercut the ninja clean in the face, knocking him off his feet. She took his katana, thinking that she would end up needing it later. Neera ran towards a group of ninjas armed with bows and arrows that took aim at Natalya and tried to shoot her. But they never got a chance as Neera froze them stiff with her ice sceptre. Another ninja tried to grab her from behind but she whirled around and walloped the ninja in the head with her sceptre. This threw the assailant down onto his side, dazed and confused from the attack. Natalya winked at her, impressed with her skills. Neera smiled back, pleased with the compliment. Now the ninjas were knocked out or frozen, the two women ran down inside the ship to take out the turrets. It was surprising as to how well they worked together. The two felt as if they should work together more often.

Over on the next ship, the hounds had decided that this ship would be their target. Lilac and Carol left them to do their work as they hopped onto another ship that was just behind and on the right side of this one. The dragon had to Dragon Boost over to the ship with Carol holding onto her in order to make it. A simple jump wouldn't have been enough this time. The Basset family waited until the dragon and wildcat had landed on their ship before turning around and preparing to deal with the Red Scarves that populated the one they were standing on. Before anybody could fight though, a missile from the Shang Tu fleet hit the starboard side of the red battleship and rocked it slightly. To the people on board, it felt as if a giant hand had just smacked the ship in an attempt to knock them all off of it. The damage was superficial at best and the ship was still able to fight back. It would take many more hits before the ship would go down. The Red Scarves knew this and they couldn't let these intruders make it easier for the ship to go down.

They charged towards the trio of hounds, wielding maces and flails and swinging them as they ran towards their opponents. Miguel and Lela, having once been Red Scarves themselves, knew how to fight them and Milla had dealt with them enough times to know how they worked. This would be easy, even if they didn't have Lilac and Carol with them. One ninja swung his flail at Milla but the young hound summoned a shield and blocked his attack. The flail bounced off of her shield and flung backwards, the weight carrying the ninja backwards and bringing him down onto his back. He picked himself up only to then be punched full on by a laser being fired from Milla's shield. The attack knocked the ninja backwards and sent him skidding across the deck. Two more ninjas attempted to beat Milla with their maces but Miguel and Lela were quick to react. They both kicked the ninjas in their stomachs, causing them both to double over in pain. The two hounds then effortlessly swiped their maces from their hands and clubbed the two ninjas around the heads with them. The two ninjas felt as if they'd received the heaviest blow to the heads they would ever receive. It was guaranteed that they'd wake up with severe headaches later. Another ninja attempted to knock the two parents out with their flails but before he could land a blow on them, Milla summoned a green block to her hands and threw it at the hooded mercenary. The block hit the ninja, throwing him down onto his side and causing him to groan in pain. Miguel and Lela saw what had happened and they both smiled at their daughter. They couldn't have been prouder to have a daughter like Milla. The puppy smiled back, pleased with herself for doing so well and protecting her parents. With their opponents down, the hounds were now free to take out the ship's turrets. Miguel and Lela took the stolen maces with them, thinking that they would be useful in destroying the turrets. The hounds ran over to the door in the floor and let themselves inside, leaving their opponents sprawled out all over the top deck.

Lilac and Carol were on the ship that was just behind the Basset family's target and the two were already on hand to take out the Red Scarves that were on it. It didn't take them long at all to take out the crew. Lilac took most of them out very swiftly with her Dragon Cyclone attacks and Carol unleashed her fisticuffs on any ninja foolish enough to get in her way. It was easy work and the crew was taken out instantly. The moment they were all taken out, Lilac and Carol ran down into the interior of the battle ship and found themselves facing a row of cannons that were firing at the ships ahead of them. The dragon and wildcat took a moment to wonder how the others were doing on their targets before they began hammering against the cannons and doing as much damage as possible. Lilac Dragon-Boosted into some cannons, hitting them square on and breaking them away from their supports in a single charge. The attack caused them to fall out and crash down onto the ground below. Lilac just smirked, pleased to be spiting Memphis by doing this. He deserved for his fleet to lose its firepower for what he'd done to the world. Carol slashes away, clawing viciously at the cannons until they were too damaged to fire. To her, it was as easy as ripping bark off a tree. She'd torn apart many of Brevon's robots during their battle against him last year so a bunch of cannons were easy work for her. In a few minutes, Lilac and Carol finally managed to take out every cannon. Now defenceless, the ship was helpless as missiles came flying towards it. The dragon and wildcat quickly ran back up onto the top deck and Lilac dragon-boosted over to a ship that was directly behind and on the other side of the one they were one now. Carol held onto her as she boosted onto the other ship, abandoning the previous one to its fate. Just as they landed, Shang Tu Battleships blew the ship apart, taking advantage over how defenceless it now was. Lilac and Carol looked back as their resulting handiwork brought the ship crashing down in a ball of flames onto the ground below.

The Shang Mu Sky Battalion was losing ships, but not enough to claim it as significant. Not even a quarter of the fleet had been taken down yet. The Shang Tu fleet was still losing more ships with nearly a quarter of theirs going down in flames and smoke. Lilac knew her team would quickly catch up though. She and Carol then watched as three more ships were destroyed simultaneously, missiles tearing through their armour as if it were made of paper and vaporizing everything inside the interior. She also saw small dots leaping onto some more ships nearby. Those were her friends of course. They were doing their jobs well. At this rate, a quarter of Shang Mu's fleet would be gone and Shang Tu's fleet would be winning. It would also give King Dail less to deal with when he eventually arrived. It still puzzled the dragon as to why he was taking so long. Bad weather over Shuigang perhaps? It didn't matter, the situation was well enough under control. They could handle this without him. He'd just be there to finish the job when he finally arrived. The lilac-skinned reptile turned around…and gasped. She and her feline friend were face to face with the last person they expected. Spade the Panda himself. He was commanding this particular vessel and he was furious to see that he had intruders. He whipped out some cards, a Joker and four kings, and prepared to throw them. Lilac and Carol took up battle-ready stances and prepared for battle.

"You just don't know when to fold do you?!" Spade snarled, "You're not content with making a fool out of Memphis earlier, now you're here to sabotage the fleet and kill all of my men! Have you not realized that you're helping that fleet kill my comrades you murderers?!"

"You're one to talk you hypocrite!" Lilac growled, "You're the murderer around here, not us! And besides, you're killing anybody onboard the Shang Tu fleet so you're hardly in any position to call US murderers!"

"Yeah! So you can just shut the hell up and get out of our way!" Carol shouted.

"What, so I can die too?! Thanks girls, but I'd rather not if you don't mind…" the Red Scarf leader muttered, "Now get off my ship before I throw you overboard!"

"Like that'll happen!" retorted Lilac.

"Then join your fleet in death!" Spade roared.

He jumped up into the air and unleashed a volley of playing cards that scythed through air towards his opponents. Lilac whipped them all away with her tendrils while Carol scampered towards Spade just as he landed on the deck. She uppercut him in the face, the heavy blow nearly taking his head off as he was hit. Spade snapped backwards and almost fell over. He regained his palace and jabbed Carol in the chest with two fingers. The wildcat winced in pain but she fought it off as Spade whipped out an Ace of Spades card and tried to slit her throat with it. He missed as Carol ducked backwards and then the wildcat swung her head forwards. She hit the panda between the eyes, throwing him backwards and disorientating him for a moment. Angered, Spade threw his card but his aim was terribly off. His card simply missed and fell over the edge. While he was regaining his senses, Carol seized her chance and tackled him to the floor. The two struggled with each other furiously but Spade managed to throw her off and get back onto his feet. He drew out four king cards and threw them at Carol. The tomboy feline picked herself up only to get slashed by the cards across her arms and cheeks. She squealed a pained squeal but tried her best to hold her pain. Spade came running towards Carol and tried to sock her in the mouth but the cat swung her leg up and kicked him in the chin. The terrific kick took Spade off his feet and sent him flying backwards through the air in a neat rainbow arch. He crashed down heavily onto his back and skidded to a halt just near the edge.

Lilac ran towards him and just as the panda picked himself up, she walloped him directly in the side of his head. The punch felt more like a slam from a heavy hammer than a punch to him. Spade grunted as his face connected with the wooden deck floor once again. Growling, he picked himself up and he boosted into Lilac with his head down low. A train of green afterimages trailed after him as he slammed into the dragon's body and threw her onto the floor. Carol ran over to help her friend but Spade spun around on the balls of his feet and roundhouse kicked Carol in the face. The cat was sent crashing down heavily onto her side, wincing in pain from the impact. Lilac stood up and threw a punch at Spade, hitting him just beside his left eye. The panda reeled sideways but didn't falter. He whipped out four queen cards and threw them at Lilac. He managed to slash her on the shoulders and hips with his cards but they barely seemed to slow her down. The dragon ignored the stinging pain in her cuts and instead just Dragon-Boosted into the panda and slammed him against the sail mast of his ship. It was like being hit by a torpedo and slammed into a concrete wall by it. The difference was it didn't explode on impact. Lilac stepped back as Spade collapsed onto the floor, panting and gasping. The dragon tried to kick slam him, raising her leg high and swinging it down towards him, but the panda rolled out of her way and jumped back up. He elbowed the dragon in the ribs and then yanked on her tendrils. Lilac screeched and yanked on his hair, making the ninja cry out loud. Then both dragon and panda punched at each other as hard as they could. The punching fight soon ended up stalemated as they linked hands and pushed on each other, trying to force one another down onto their knees.

"Why Lilac? Why do you fight?! Did you forget how quickly everybody turned on you the moment seeds of doubt were sown into their minds?!" Spade demanded, "They exiled you! Why do you care about them?!"

"Because freaks like you manipulated them, that's why!" Lilac snarled, "Memphis manipulated them and you joined in! Why should I be mad at them for what YOU did?! You and Memphis deserve my scorn and the people deserve my sympathy for what you did! That is why I fight and it's why you're going down!"

Then suddenly, before Spade knew it, Lilac had suddenly thrust her arms out aside, throwing his own arms back and causing him to bend backwards slightly. Before he could move his arms back into position, Lilac raised her foot and kick-slammed the ninja assassin directly in the solar plexus, Natalya's favourite target in a fight. Spade let out a hoarse gasp as the wind in his body was knocked out of him. He could hardly breathe. He felt light-headed. He needed a moment to get his air supply back but Lilac wasn't going to let him have a chance. She had a job to do and needed him out of the way so he wouldn't interfere. The dragon charged towards him and then whipped him callously with her tendrils as she initiated a Dragon Cyclone attack. Spade grunted with every hit he received and Lilac finished off by roundhouse kicking him across the deck. The panda cried out loud as he was sent flying through the air and he crashed down near the edge of the ship's starboard side.

As he landed, Carol ran towards Spade and pounced towards him in one big graceful leap. But the panda recovered and he socked the feline fury in the face with a powerful punch. Carol was so stunned by the punch that she barely felt any pain. More shock and surprise than anything. She soon ended up grimacing as pain registered in her mind after she'd landed and had a moment to take in what had happened. Spade boosted towards Carol and kicked her in the side, taking her up off the floor a few inches and rolling her over onto her front. Lilac stepped in for her friend and whipped Spade with her tendrils. But then the ninja panda retaliated by backhanding Lilac onto the floor. He was surprised at how hard he'd hit her but was pleased with himself nonetheless. He summoned a card, an Ace of Hearts, to his hand and he prepared to slash Lilac across the back with it while she was down. But Carol grabbed his arm and pulled it aside, forcing him to drop the card onto the floor. Spade tried to wrench himself free but Carol was too strong. The powerful cat then proceeded to flip Spade over her shoulder and slam him down onto his back as hard as possible. The assassin screwed his face up, wondering if his spine had been severely damaged. But his bones soon knitted and he was back on his feet again. However, he was showing signs of fatigue. He was panting heavily as if just standing up was exhausting. He didn't look as if he could go on any longer. But he was in no mood for giving up. He would fight no matter what his condition was.

But before the fight could inevitably continue, a missile from Gong's ship managed to find a way past the firing missiles from Spade's ship and crashed down, causing a shockwave that blew everybody off their feet as it swept over the decks. Lilac landed on her side whereas Carol and Spade were flung over the edge, tossed aside like trees in a hurricane. The ship rocked under the explosion but the damage done to it was not enough to bring it down. It was still able to fly. Lilac picked herself up, bedazzled by what had happened, and she gasped as she saw that Spade and Carol were gone. Had they just been thrown over and killed?! But then the dragon heard a cry for help. It was Carol's voice! She'd managed to cling on it seemed. Lilac scurried over the starboard side and peeked over the edge. There was her best friend, clinging on for dear life to the edge of the ship. She looked very frightened and desperate not to let go. Spade was beneath her, holding onto a cannon barrel. The cannon he held onto had stopped firing in fear of causing him to fall. He held on tight but he looked as if he had no strength in him to pull himself up. It was as if he was waiting for a miracle to happen. Lilac ignored him and focused on Carol. The wildcat tried to pull herself up but her boots couldn't find any traction. She struggled desperately but only seemed to be making it more obvious what was going to happen. Her fingers started sliding dangerously near the edge. She was going to fall if Lilac didn't save her!"

"Lilac, help me!" Carol wailed, "Please help me!"

"Grab my hand Carol! I'll pull you up!" Lilac yelled over the noise of the cannon fire, holding out her gloved hand for her best friend to grab.

"But I might pull you over!" the wildcat protested.

"Just do it! Please! I don't wanna lose you! Not like this Carol!" the dragon shouted back, "Grab my hand now!"

The wildcat swallowed nervously and decided to take the risk. She reached up with her hand and extended out for Lilac's. Their hands were almost able to link. Just a few more centimetres and they'd be able to grab each other. Lilac leaned forward some more, risking falling to her death. The dragon girl was on her stomach, reaching down with her hand over the side. Her feet were edged between two black posts that were meant for mooring ropes to tie around when the ship was in a dock on the ground. She was able to keep herself from falling but still, her heart pounded worriedly as she inched further. Lilac could feel sweat trickling down her forehead but didn't dare wipe it away. Carol was sweating nervously too but she ignored it as she reached up for her friend's hand. Then finally, the two linked hands and Carol eased some of her strength, allowing Lilac to take most of her weight. The two smiled at each other and Lilac now proceeded to use her feet to pull herself backwards with the mooring posts keeping her from going over. The dragon strained terribly but didn't let go. She was strong enough for this, she wouldn't drop Carol. The wildcat helped her by pressing her feet against the hull and pushing herself up. Lilac pulled until finally, half of Carol's body was back on deck. She got up onto her knees, panting and gasping as Carol pulled the rest of her body back up herself. She wiped sweat off of her head and then embraced Lilac thankfully.

"Oh thank you so much!" Carol exclaimed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved my life!"

"Oh Carol…I had to." Lilac replied softly, smiling, "I couldn't let my best friend fall to her death now could I? And it's what best friends do. We save each other's lives at the risk of our own."

"I know, but still, thank you!" the wildcat said graciously, "I owe you one!"

"You owe me nothing." the dragon replied, "Your life being saved is enough for me. But thank you."

The two girls were about to gush some more before they realized something. Spade was still clinging on for dear life to one of the ship's cannons! The two girls peered over the edge and saw Spade trying to pull himself back up. His feet scrabbled for the edge of the cannon but the surface was too smooth. He was too weak to pull himself up. He could only dangle and wait for his grip to loosen. He glanced up at the girls, glaring at them with his loathsome green eyes.

"Spade! Hang on! I'll get you back up!" Lilac called down to him.

"What, so you can throw me in jail?!" Spade snapped, "No thanks. You're not taking me to justice!"

"Don't be an ungrateful twerp and let us help you!" Carol retorted.

"No…" the panda replied, "I'm not letting you traitors get the pleasure of laughing at me while I'm behind bars! And I'd rather not face the wrath of Natalya again. And even if you all die, Memphis will likely torture me for failing him. As a wise man once said…that there are things far more frightening…than DEATH…"

His eyes opened wide and his mouth curled down in a cold, evil stare that could freeze the blood. It was as if he wanted Lilac and Carol to remember this face for the rest of their lives. Then…his grip loosened and he fell from the cannon. Lilac and Carol gasped as the evil assassin began to fall to his inevitable demise. Had Spade lost his grip or had he deliberately let go? Lilac would never, ever know though his last words indicated that it was the latter. She watched in disbelief as her lifelong nemesis plummeted down and disappeared forever. She could barely imagine the impact as Spade's body slammed onto the ground. He was obviously dead. Nobody could survive a fall like that. She even saw a brief flash of dark blue on the ground below. It meant that Spade had just landed directly into a river. If the fall hadn't killed him already than he would surely drown in the water. Either way, Lilac knew that she would never see Spade again. What would Natalya think to this? She'd likely be OK with it. She never liked Spade much anyway. Shaking her head, Lilac got to her feet and turned away.

"What a waste…what a total, total waste…" she muttered, "Spade could have redeemed himself and instead, he's gone and wasted himself."

"I guess he was too big a stuck-up to admit he's not better than us…" Carol grumbled, "And thus, he's taken the easy way out. Oh well, I can't say I'll miss him."

"Me neither…" Lilac sighed, "He was a horrible person anyway. One less to deal with."

With Spade now gone for good, Lilac focused back onto her original task and prepared to sabotage the ship. As the dragon walked over to the door that would take her and Carol inside the ship, she suddenly noticed something. Memphis's flagship was only one ship away from her and Carol! The big, grandiose vessel loomed behind the next vessel behind this one. This gave the dragon an idea.

"Memphis's ship…it's not too far away from us!" Lilac declared, "I could go over there and beat him up now!"

"But what about the fleet?" Carol noted.

"You stick to your original task Carol, I'll take care of Memphis." Lilac ordered, "Wait until the others catch up to you, maybe join Clifford when he reaches you."

"But you can't take on Memphis alone!" the wildcat protested, "He nearly killed us all! Please let me come too!"

"I can't Carol. You need to help my friends sabotage the rest of the ships." the dragon said softly, putting her hands on her best friend's shoulders, "And besides, I have an advantage. Memphis can't burn me alive or he'll set his own ship on fire. It'll be easier to fight him."

"OK…if you say so." Carol said, "Good luck Lilac…and please be careful."

"Good luck to you Carol." said Lilac, hugging her feline friend, "And remember…I'll always love you Carol just like you love me. You'll always be my best friend."

The tomboy feline smiled graciously, touched by her friend's words. She remembered how she'd told a Dark Stone-possessed Lilac that she loved her. Her love for Lilac was friendly love and not romantic love but still love all the same. And Lilac felt the same about her. She couldn't be more happy than she was right now. Breaking up the hug, Lilac and Carol bid each other farewell as the dragon turned around and Dragon-Boosted onto the ship behind the one they were standing on. The wildcat stayed put and waited to see if anybody would join her. Just as Lilac landed on the ship, another Shang Mu ship was destroyed in a ball of fire and smoke as missiles penetrated its armour and tore it to pieces. The dragon turned and watched it fall. Her friends were still doing well. A quarter of the fleet had been destroyed at last. But the same had happened for Gong's fleet. They were evenly matched now. But with her friends still sabotaging whatever ships they could, Lilac knew that the Shang Tu fleet was going to win. It was all the more reason for her to leave it to them and focus on Memphis, the biggest threat in the entire fleet. She'd have him gift wrapped and ready for the fleet to take away once they destroyed the rest of Shang Mu's Battalion. The dragon sped across the decks of the battleship, earning surprised gazes from the Red Scarves that were manning it, and she Dragon-Boosted into the air, soaring gracefully like a bird towards the bow of the flagship. It felt as if she was flying and for a moment, the dragon held her arms out as if they were wings carrying her towards her destiny. She remembered how her mother and father used to pretend to fly many times when she was a kid. She had copied their pretences and found it fun. Now it was a sweet reminder of a time that had long since gone by.

Lilac landed onto the flagship and wasted no time in charging towards the entrance to the ship's interior. She wrenched the door open and ran inside, speeding through the corridors that the ship housed inside. She knew where the throne room was and in a matter of minutes, she found it and knocked the door down with a Dragon-Boost attack. The door was flung off of its hinges and the dragon ran inside. As expected, there was her wicked uncle standing before her with a look of death in his cold, yellow eyes as they lay upon the impudent girl that dared to break into his throne room and challenge him on his own ship. Memphis stood up from his throne and gritted his teeth. Lilac stood before him, her teeth clenched and her fists balled up. At last, they were together again, niece and uncle, ready to settle a very old grudge for good, nobody else but them in the room and nobody to interfere with them as they prepared to settle the score once and for all.

"Memphis! This ends now!" Lilac barked, "You've cast your evil shadow over Avalice for far too long! It's time you were put away forever!"

"So…you've decided to come crawling back to finish the business that's been going on between us at last…" Memphis muttered, "I do have to wonder what it'll take to finally break you Lilac. I killed your parents, turned the people who trusted you against you and got you exiled and even came close to killing your friends. And yet you still persist in your desire to play the saint and be the white knight that saves everybody. How do you do it?!"

"I have the heart of my father and the spirit of my mother! Those very precious things to me will always keep me going no matter what!" the dragon shouted, "You will never, EVER break me Memphis and as long as you threaten my people, I'll NEVER stop until you're finally defeated!"

"Then allow me to stop you dead in your tracks you mistake of nature…" the fire dragon growled, "I always disliked you Lilac. There was something I always abhorred about you. And now…I REALLY hate you. More than I hated Dawn and my idiot brother Stephen. You're as obnoxious as they are, and I'm going to put you out of my misery!"

He then proceeded to reach into his vest coat for something. Lilac expected him to pull out another pistol and shoot her dead right now. But what came out of Memphis's vest was something VERY unexpected. It was a handle with a ring mechanism attached to it and two slots for on either end for something to attach to. Memphis then pulled out two long, sharp blades from his vest and attached them by sliding them into the slots on the ring mechanism. Once the blades were inserted, there was a click and they fastened in securely. There was a release button on the handle but Memphis would have to turn it so it could be pressed. It wouldn't work as it was now. Now Memphis's unusual weapon looked like a handle with a ring around it and two blades attached to either end. Lilac raised an eyebrow curiously. What kind of weapon was it? A double-edged sword no doubt but she had a feeling it was more than that.

"Um…what is that?" she asked.

"My favourite toy…" Memphis purred.

He then held his arm out and all of a sudden, the ring apparatus began to spin around the handle section, the twin blades sweeping through the air as it spun. The wicked dragon grinned evilly as the two blades spun around in a circle in front of him, their glinting edges nothing more than silver blurs as the speed picked up. It was as if he was now wielding some kind of saw blade, only much more deadly. Lilac's heart stopped. She couldn't believe her eyes. This was the most amazing and lethal weapon she had ever seen in her life!

"YOU HAVE A SWORD THAT SPINS?!" Lilac screeched.

"Indeed. It was a relic of the ancient dragons that was passed down to me from generation to generation." sneered Memphis, "And its blades hunger for your blood…"

He then began to walk slowly towards Lilac, holding his spinning sword out to the side so he wouldn't cut his own feet off. Lilac began to feel nervous as her uncle and his insanely lethal weapon came closer and closer to her…

* * *

 _ **HOLY SHIT, THIS IS IT! THE FINAL BATTLE BETWEEN LILAC AND MEMPHIS! WHO WILL WIN?! FIND OUT NEXT TIME FOR GOD'S SAKE!**_


	9. Chapter 9: Battle of the Dragons

_Chapter 9: Battle of the Dragons_

Lilac threw herself to the side as Memphis drew his arm back and hurled his spinning sword at her like a boomerang. It was as if he'd thrown a saw blade at her and it was coming towards her, ready to chop her to pieces. The deadly weapon missed her by inches and ended up pinging harmlessly off of the wall straight back towards Memphis. The fire dragon had had plenty of practice with the dangerous weapon and knew what to do in a situation like this. He stepped to the side and waited for his weapon to hit the floor. The twin-bladed sword hit the floor, stopped spinning and lay down with a clatter after the impact. Memphis picked it up but he didn't get the sword spinning again. He had trained with the sword well enough to know that making it spin all the time didn't necessarily mean he was going to win. He had to make it spin when it was necessary, that would make it easier for him to win his battles. He had shown Lilac what it his weapon could do, and now he would keep his impudent niece on her toes as they thought. He could even get Lilac to wear herself out by constantly dodging and running away from him. It would be like a wolf chasing down a fleeing antelope with Memphis as the wolf and Lilac as the antelope, chasing his prey down until she was exhausted and then come in for the kill. Smirking, the fire dragon ran towards Lilac with his double-bladed sword in hand. The dragon screamed and jumped to the side as Memphis aimed at her and slashed. He missed her but the teen-dragon knew that he'd catch her eventually. Memphis had much more experience than her and being older and having more years of training under his belt, he'd last longer than Lilac would. He would easily have more stamina and go on longer than Lilac ever would. This battle had to end quickly and Lilac knew it. If only she had a weapon too! She should have stolen a weapon from the Red Scarves when she was sabotaging one of the ships!

But then Lilac realized something. She didn't need a weapon. Her fighting prowess would be enough for her as long as she avoided Memphis's lethal sword. The water dragon watched as the fire dragon came swinging at her again with his sword. She timed her move just right and Dragon-Boosted straight into Memphis's gut just as he raised his arm and prepared to slash her across the face. The red-skinned dragon cried out as the younger dragon slammed into him and carried him across the room and into a wall. The slam was so hard that Memphis thought for a moment that he was going to pass out. To his luck, he managed to stay conscious though when Lilac jumped back, he fell down onto the floor and took longer than he wanted to get back up. This gave Lilac the chance to run towards him and punch him several times in the face. Every punch that was thrown at the evil dragon felt like being hit by a rock repeatedly. Memphis grunted as Lilac hit him several times but he managed to take the blows well enough so he could pick himself up and then slug Lilac in the gut. His punch came heavy and powerfully, winding Lilac and causing her to double over. As the dragon bent over, Memphis raised his sword, held it vertically above his niece and prepared to stab Lilac in the back with the blade pointing down at her. But before he could launch the killing strike, the dragon threw herself at Memphis's stomach and head-butted him. This attack caused her to slam into Memphis and in turn, slam him against the wall. The impact had startled Memphis so much that he'd dropped his weapon. The dragon grunted as he hit the wall but he didn't let the impact slow him down. He growled menacingly at his opponent, showing perfect white teeth that didn't make any attempt to make him less threatening. He kneed Lilac in the stomach, forcing her to back away from him and once the lilac-dragon was out of his way, he spun around on his left foot and drove his right foot heavily into his niece's face. Lilac cried out as she was hit and sent hurling aside from the attack. She hit the floor, grunting in pain as she landed. Memphis picked up his sword and advanced on Lilac. The dragon turned onto her back and saw her wicked uncle coming towards her. Frightened, she began to crawl backwards away from him as he held his sword out to the side and activated its spinning feature again.

The dragon was terrified as the deadly silver blades became a blur circling the air beside Memphis. She imagined how horrible it would be to be cut to pieces by a weapon as cruel and vicious as this. Would she be dead before the pain could register? That was a question Lilac didn't want to know the answer to. In order to get out of her uncle's way, she swung her legs upwards and rolled over onto her front, her legs carrying her body up and over. She then sprang back up onto her feet and darted away. Memphis laughed and threw his spinning sword at Lilac. The vicious blades scythed through the air as they came hurling towards their target. Lilac screamed in terror as the sword came near and in order to dodge it, she threw herself onto the floor, allowing the weapon to cleave through the air just above her and hurtle past. The sword hit one of the support beams that kept the roof of the room up and embedded itself into it. Lilac looked up and saw the twin-bladed sword sticking out of the beam with one blade halfway stuck in it. She now had the chance to use Memphis's favourite toy against him. She ran over to the sword and grabbed the handle. Lilac pulled on it but the sword had embedded pretty deeply into the support beam. It would take a lot of pulling to get it out. She pulled with all her might and felt the sword slowly and steadily slide out of the beam. Very soon it would be hers and Memphis would be at a disadvantage!

"Oy! Get off of that!" Memphis bellowed.

He ran towards his loathsome relative and spat a spear of flame at Lilac's left arm. The flame hit her, scalding her arm instantly and causing the teen-dragon to scream in anguish. She clutched her arm, crying out loudly as the burnt patch on her skin stung furiously. Distracted by the pain, she wasn't ready to defend herself as Memphis charged into her and rammed her aside like a bull forcing away its opponent. Lilac fell onto her side as Memphis grabbed his sword and pulled it out of the beam with seemingly little effort. The dragon gasped and backed away from her uncle as he advanced on her again, sword in hand and ready to cut her to pieces. Unfortunately for Lilac she had nowhere to go now. Her back came up against the wall and she found herself sat on the floor with her back pressed tightly against it. She was trapped. Her eyes opened wide as Memphis stood before her with his twin-bladed sword held out in front of him and a wicked smile on his face.

"A valiant effort my child…but sadly, not enough to defeat me." Memphis sneered, "And now you're finished. And your friends will be next."

"There's no point to this Memphis!" Lilac protested, "My friends are sabotaging your ships and making them vulnerable to attack! The Red Scarves aren't enough to stop them, especially Natalya, and Spade is dead! You won't win this battle! And even if you take out most of Gong's fleet, Dail's fleet will be coming to finish you off! You can't win Memphis! You're the one who's finished!"

"Hardly." the evil dragon growled, "I'll simply escape from this ship before they can get me and retreat back to my kingdom. As long as I'm Mayor of Shang Mu, nobody can touch me. And if they do try to arrest me then I'll just go into hiding again and wait for the perfect moment to strike back. The difference being that you won't live to stop me like you have this time…"

He then switched on the sword's spinning feature and held it close to his cornered niece. Lilac whimpered, her heart pounding like mad inside her chest as the spinning blades inched close to her. They made an eerie sound as they spun around the sword's handle. The sound made Lilac's skin crawl just as much as the blades coming towards her did. They would churn her to pieces like fruit in a blender and Memphis would like keep a piece of her as a trophy to commemorate this day, her head perhaps. Lilac felt beads of sweat trickle down her head as death came close to her. She had to find a way to stall Memphis for long enough for her to get away! Maybe even stall him long enough for one of her friends to reach the battleship and save her.

"Wait! Please, wait!" Lilac protested, "Before you kill me, can you answer me just one last question?"

"Depends what the question is…" Memphis snarled, his blades still spinning as he held them closer to Lilac.

"Why are you so evil?!" the dragon asked, "Natalya told me what caused her to go bad so why are you this way?! Why did you become such a monster?!"

The very question seemed to have an electric effect on Memphis. He paused dead in his tracks and froze as if he'd just been jolted. His face contorted with anger, suggesting that he wasn't too happy to receive such a question. But he stopped his spinning sword and held it away from his terrified niece. His eyes narrowed down to curious slits. Evil slits of anger or was it a more solemn expression? Lilac couldn't tell but she had a feeling she wasn't going to hear a happy story like she hadn't done with Natalya.

"You know the common saying "People aren't born evil, they're made evil"?" Memphis began, "Well…that's the case with me and Natalya too since my killing of Dawn and Stephen caused her to go off the deep end. My childhood wasn't a particularly pleasant one."

"Natalya's wasn't either…" Lilac murmured, remembering how the former villainess had been a victim of child abuse. Maybe Memphis was too? She was soon going to find out.

"You wanted the answer to my question and I'm giving it to you, so don't interrupt." the fire dragon snapped, "Anyway, unlike Natalya, I wasn't a victim of child abuse. Yes, she told me all about that when we were an item Lilac. I on the other hand, was a victim of something just as equally as horrible. Racism. You see, dragons are often worshipped due to the origin of our kingdoms right? Well where I was born, dragons were feared and hated. I was born in a place called "Shogun". It's a city outside of the three kingdoms and is a civilization that DESPIES the dragon race. They thought we were arrogant, haughty monsters that wanted nothing but power and glory and thought themselves superior to others. My family was nothing like that. Me and Stephen in particular were very nice dragons like you and Dawn are. At the time, I didn't understand the hate I was getting from the people of Shogun. I didn't learn the origins of Avalice until I was a teenager. Mother and father had opted against telling me said origins in fear of me getting the wrong idea and thinking myself superior to everybody else."

Lilac nodded understandingly. Dawn and Stephen hadn't told her Avalice's origins until she was ten. It had happened a week before they were murdered. She had been fascinated by the story at the time but never let it get to her head thanks to how well raised she had been.

"Life in Shogun was very hard." Memphis continued, "People attacked me just because I was a dragon and were scared of me because I could breathe fire. You see, they worried that fire dragons like me would burn their city down. My father, who was a fire dragon too, had had to put up with this prejudice for a long time too but he was used to it. I was only a child and thus, I could hardly take the abuse. At the age of eleven, it still persisted and got to the point I wondered what the point of living was. Why live if people hated me so much? My parents and Stephen tried to help me but I just couldn't let the abuse go. It hurt me too much to forget it. In order to stay safe, I spent my life locked away in my own house for two whole years. I refused to go outside in fear of being attacked. My parents and Stephen worried about me rotten but they couldn't do anything about it. Nothing they tried seemed to work. When I was a teenager, I decided that I couldn't live in fear anymore…so I ran away from Shogun. My family were heartbroken about this but they couldn't stop me. I had gone and as of this day, I wonder what happened to my parents. Are they still looking for me? Or are they gone now…?"

Lilac felt sickened to hear how nonchalantly Memphis had wondered about his parents. It was as if he didn't care about them anymore! Just when it seemed she had a reason to pity her uncle, he gave her another reason to dislike him.

"Anyway, on my travels, I ran into the one thing that changed my life forever…the Cult of Dragons." Memphis went on, "The same cult that mentored your beloved Natalya. The cult was relatively new at the time and was looking for new members. They were made up of dragons who considered themselves superior to others or were victims of bigotry like I was. They accepted me in a heartbeat and told me the origins of Avalice. I was fascinated and upon hearing this, I realized something that nobody else did about the planet. Dragons are the superior race. We're the reason Avalice's three kingdoms exist and people worship dragons because of this. So I lived in the cult, embracing their fascinating visions of the world and learning the ways of the dragon and also the skills I know now. I also became the criminal I am infamously known as. My first crime was a robbery in Shogun, the city that treated me like dirt. It felt good to be getting back at them. And as time went on, I committed more crimes from robbery to political manipulations and even murder. Most of my crimes were committed in Shogun of course but we moved on to the three kingdoms of Avalice too. And the rest is history. I was nothing, somebody to treat horribly just for being a dragon. And now I'm the biggest criminal in all of Avalice…and in charge of one of the kingdoms inspired by the dragon that blessed us all."

Lilac took in everything that Memphis had said and now found herself wishing she'd never asked him why he'd become so bad. His entire story was nothing short of sickening and wrong. There was reason to pity her uncle but it was outweighed by everything else she had heard from him. She found herself hating Memphis even more than she already did. Her eyes narrowed at her uncle.

"Memphis, I'm sorry that you were treated like dirt as a kid but that does not excuse anything you've done!" she cried, "There are lots of kids who are treated like dirt and they don't go around committing crimes and murdering people! You're just using your childhood as an excuse to be a total monster and that is just sickening!"

"So by your logic, you must think the same about Natalya when she went bad…" Memphis snarled.

"At least YOU had a family to support you through the bad times you had!" Lilac retorted, "Natalya had nobody to help her! Her parents were beastly to her and they beat up her grandparents when they tried to look after her! And they gave her a good reason to kill them, they were trying to kill her so she had to defend herself! And the fact that you killed my mom, the first person who EVER showed sympathy to her, that was just too much for her to take! She'd been treated badly all her life and my mom gave her a reason to carry on so her death was going to affect her badly! You on the other hand, you had my dad and your parents to help you and protect you from the bad times you suffered through and yet for no reason at all, you ran away and abandoned them and then you turned bad because some stupid cult says dragons are superior to everybody!"

The fact that she'd labelled his beloved cult as "stupid" was enough to make Memphis growl angrily and swing his sword towards Lilac. The dragon threw herself to one side just as the sword came swishing towards her. She had just managed to dodge it, feeling the blade sweep just millimetres above her head as it missed. So it seemed Memphis valued the cult that had made him the bad guy he was. Insulting it had stricken a nerve in him. That was useful. If Lilac could annoy Memphis, he'd get mad and make mistakes, giving her the advantage she needed over him. The dragon got back up onto her feet and darted off just as Memphis activated his sword's spinning feature and came chasing after her, a silver blur whirling through the air beside him as he held his sword out at arm's length to one side. Were her friends nearby at all? Would they come onboard the flagship and join in the fight against Memphis? Lilac wasn't sure but for the time being, she'd be content with handling this by herself. Regardless of how dangerous the fight was quickly becoming…

* * *

Carol was still waiting on the battleship that she and Lilac had jumped onto and had their final fight with Spade before he fell to his death. She hadn't bothered sabotaging the ship yet otherwise she'd end up giving Gong's fleet an excuse to attack it and the resulting hailstorm would take her with the ship. She wouldn't be able to jump far enough to reach any other ships beside this one if she had to get off for any reason. The wildcat hoped that she wouldn't be waiting too long for any of her friends to find her and reach her so that she could sabotage the ship and be off it already. She ignored the carnage going on around her and thought about her best friend. Was Lilac doing OK on the flagship? Was she winning the fight against Memphis? The wildcat had no idea but Carol was sure that Lilac was winning. She'd managed to win a fight against Natalya and had beaten Lord Brevon twice. She could surely win this battle. And yet a part of Carol wanted to be there for Lilac when she beat Memphis. Maybe even take a shot at the evil dragon himself. He had tried to behead her and the others earlier so it would be satisfying to throw a punch at him. Carol snapped out of her thoughts as a loud bang nearby made her jump. Another battleship just near hers had been hit but not enough to bring it down. The tomboy feline watched as the ship fired missiles back and hit a battleship near General Gong's own ship in the opposing fleet. Carol worried for a moment that Gong had actually been hit but she could see that explosion emitted too far to the left for it to be Gong's. The general's ship was in the centre of the front row of the Shang Tu fleet. The ship that had been hit wasn't brought down but it didn't look as if it was going to last much longer. The fleets were evenly matched but it could quickly turn in either one's favour any moment now.

"I sure hope general heavy-armour will pull through..." Carol murmured, "And I wonder when King Dail's gonna show up? He's sure taking his sweet time to lend a hand..."

The moment she had mentioned King Dail, the wildcat suddenly had another thought that made her pause and ponder it for a moment.

"Wonder how his royal highness will react to Spade's death?" she mused, "Will he be happy? Sad? Angry? Nothing at all? I bet he was kinda hoping his brother could be turned or something like that rather than dead. I'll ask him when he FINALLY shows up..."

Carol put her thoughts aside and watched as the battle continued to rage on around her. Missiles were still flying in multiple directions and explosions were ringing out left and right. If carnage had an image to sum up the word right there and now, chances are it would look like the battlefield that Carol was surrounded by. It wasn't as big as the fight with Lord Brevon last year but still equally as tense and heavy. The wildcat was finding herself looking forward to seeing it end already. She loved action and excitement, but not like this. Not with people dying in destroyed battleships as missiles flew through the air and smashed the ships to pieces. She would be happy to see the end of the fight and celebrate the inevitable triumph that would be hers, Lilac's and everybody else's. Then suddenly, Carol saw somebody flying towards her without the aid of wings or anything to fly or glide with. She knew who it was immediately. Her grandfather Clifford was coming towards her, flying with the aid of magic, and he touched down on the deck of the battleship to greet his beloved granddaughter. Carol instantly ran up to him and hugged him, pleased to see him alive and on the same ship as her.

"Grandpa! How's it going?" she asked gleefully.

"Quite well sweetheart." Clifford said warmly, "I've managed to sabotage at least three ships before coming here. I decided to see how you was doing before continuing so I came here. Sages like me can track down their loved ones over a limited distance through a magical connection that only the sage feels. That was how I found you."

"That's pretty cool grandpa." Carol said brightly, "Anyway, this ship is ready for sabotaging but I had to wait until somebody could take me off of this thing before sabotaging it. Lilac's gone over to the flagship to fight Memphis."

"She has?" the old wizard gasped, "Do you think we should go over to the ship and help her?"

"I think so but it'd be better to let everybody else get to us so they know where we are." Carol suggested, "Wonder where they are now?"

Suddenly, as if right on cue, she and Clifford were joined up with the other Avalicians sabotaging the ships in Memphis's fleet. Milla and Lela flew over towards the two cats with Miguel in their hands since he couldn't fly and Natalya and Neera Li landed on the decks of the ship via a Dragon-Boost from Natalya as she carried Neera over with her. Once everybody had touched down on the decks, They ran over to Carol and Clifford to see how they were.

"Hi Carol! How are you? Where's Lilac?" Milla asked.

"Fighting Memphis." the teen-cat explained, "She went over to the flagship to face him."

"ALONE?!" shrieked Natalya, her face full of concern and her eyes wide with horror.

"Fraid so." Carol said, "But don't worry, she'll be fine Natalya. She handled him well enough back in Shang Mu didn't she?"

"Yes but I don't trust Lilac to be alone with that monster for more than a minute!" the mauve-skinned dragon blustered, "She can't fight Memphis alone, she's likelier to get killed! Especially since he'll be using that one weapon he has left now his pistol and cane have been confiscated..."

"And that is?" asked Lela concernedly.

"A double-edged sword that spins..." Natalya said grimly, "And no, don't you dare accuse me of joking, the weapon is VERY real! I've seen him use it in battle before. He even let me have a go with it when we were together...long before he killed my best friend...it's lethal and is a weapon of death! Lilac won't stand a chance against it without a weapon on her!"

"Then we've gotta go help her!" Carol exclaimed, "We've gotta do something before Memphis cuts her to pieces!"

"No Carol, you and the others have a job to do." the red-eyed reptile said sternly, "I will go and help Lilac. I'm the only one besides her who stands a chance against Memphis. Also I have a weapon," she added, looking down at the katana she'd stolen from the Red Scarves earlier, "I'll give Lilac the advantage she needs. You continue sabotaging the fleet, I will help my dear daughter."

"Are you sure?" asked Milla, "You don't want us to help?"

"I'm positive little Milla." Natalya said softly, "But once Dail's fleet shows up, you can let him and what's left of Gong's fleet deal with the rest of the ships and join us on the flagship. After all, the plan was NOT to attack the flagship since we want Memphis arrested."

"That sounds fine to me." Neera said, "We'll hold out for you and Lilac Natalya."

"Good luck over there." Carol added.

"Thank you." Natalya said with a smile, "I'll see you later."

With that said, she Dragon-Boosted onto the next ship behind the one she was standing on and ran off towards the flagship. Carol and the others could only watch as she left to join her adopted daughter in battle with her ex-boyfriend. The two dragons would take the fire dragon down easily now they would be together. With nothing left to do, the cats, hounds and panda saw to sabotaging the ship they were on. Now together, they could sabotage it and escape without worrying about going down with the ship when it was destroyed...

* * *

Lilac jumped up into the air and sailed over Memphis as he lunged at her with his sword still spinning. The jump amazed the young draconian girl immensely. She hadn't thought that she'd be able to jump so high. But she'd made it and now she landed behind Memphis and kicked him in the back of his legs, forcing him down onto his knees in pain. The eloquent yet violent and nefarious dragon grunted as his knees bent underneath him but to save himself from accidentally cutting himself, he stopped his sword spinning as he landed on his knees. He'd trained plenty of times to know when to stop his sword spinning so he wouldn't injure himself. Just as he was standing back up, Lilac ran up to her evil uncle and whipped him in the back of his head with her tendrils. Memphis yelped and retaliated viciously with a single slap across the face from his tendril. It felt more like being slapped by a strong hand than a tendril to Lilac. The dragon reeled sideways, giving Memphis time to stand up and lunge at her with his sword. The top blade just caught his niece across her left cheek, leaving a thin cut that spread all the way under her eye to the blue earring she wore. It looked as if somebody had drawn a line across her face with a red felt, only the ink started leaking out of said line. Lilac screeched loudly and clutched her cheek as it began to sting in protest. It was bad enough she had a burnt patch on her arm but now Memphis had a nasty cut on the cheek for him to take advantage of. As Lilac clutched her cheek, Memphis activated his sword again and held the spinning blades towards his loathsome relative. The dragon jumped backwards in fright, quickly avoiding the blades. Memphis stopped the spinning feature and ran towards her with a murderous look in his eyes. Lilac took her hand away from the cut on her cheek and Dragon-Boosted towards him. With the weapon out to the side and not spinning, Lilac had a clear shot on her uncle. She hit him squarely in the stomach and then back-flipped, her feet swinging up and walloping Memphis in the chin and throwing him off his feet. Memphis cart-wheeled backwards and then crashed down onto the floor heavily. Pain flared up his back as he landed but he wasn't badly hurt. He stood up again and brushed himself off as if the whole thing was no big deal for him. Lilac smirked at him confidently.

"Give up yet Memphis?" she sneered.

"Not in your lifetime..." Memphis muttered.

"Good, because I owe you some more beatings before I'm through with you!" the dragon shouted.

She then Dragon-Boosted towards Memphis again but the dragon managed to dodge to the side, avoiding his niece as she hurtled towards him. Lilac skidded to a halt just before she could collide with something and just as she stopped, Memphis came running towards her with his twin-blades ready to slice her to pieces. With a determined expression on her face, Lilac ran towards him and lunged for his weapon. She grabbed his wrists and grappled with the sword, trying as hard as possible to wrench it away from Memphis. But the dragon made her let go by kicking her in the stomach. As soon as the pained dragon let go of him, the dragon swung his sword and tried to chop her head off. But he missed as the dragon ducked down and rolled away from him. She stood back up and adopted a battle-ready stance, clearly intending to launch herself at him again. Memphis smirked and began to turn his sword around in his hands.

"I do so admire your persistence..." he said with a cold, sinister smile on his face, "Ready to die?"

He then suddenly bolted towards Lilac, weapon raised above his head and the blades spinning around the handle once again. It almost looked like he was trying to take off by using it as some kind of custom made helicopter propellers. Lilac watched the blades spinning above her uncle's head and knew exactly what to do. He had left himself open yet again, a mistake that for some reason, he seemed to keep making in the battle. Lilac Dragon-Boosted towards Memphis, aiming for his torso once again. Unfortunately, Lilac had just fallen for a trick Memphis had set up. He had made the same mistake a few times in the battle, thus he had known that Lilac would assume he was doing it again. Instead, he stopped running, lowered his hand and waited for Lilac to crash into his sharp, spinning vortex that whirred ominously in front of him. The dragon saw this and screeched to a halt. She turned around as she skidded and tried to run away. Bu Memphis was a fraction too quick for her. He lunged forward and his spinning sword severed the girl's trademark twin-tendrils clean off of her head like a saw through wood. There were only little stumps left of them as they were cut off. The girl howled in agony as her tendrils dropped uselessly onto the floor, blood dripping out of the stumps where they'd been severed. Lilac clutched the back of her head, tears of pain coming to her eyes as she grimaced from the pain in the back of her skull. She'd never been in so much pain before. The tendril was a very sensitive area on a dragon and cutting it off hurt like hell. It hurt so much that Lilac thought for a moment she was going to pass out. Brevon had chopped them off after capturing her last year but he'd been merciful about it since Lilac had been unconscious when he'd done it. Now though, she was experiencing it for herself, what it felt like to feel your own tendrils being cut off. As she kneeled on the floor, howling in agony, Memphis smirked triumphantly and prepared to cut Lilac's entire head off. The dragon was in too much pain and thus, wouldn't be able to recover and dodge in time. The spinning silver blades edged towards Lilac's neck, whipping through the air just behind her.

But they never got the chance to claim the young girl's life for the door opened and somebody ran inside. Memphis stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. He'd heard the door open and loud footsteps behind him and now he saw who this new intruder was. It was Natalya, snarling angrily with her red eyes burning like a furnace and a black bladed katana in her hands. Memphis was surprised to see her. Lilac hadn't come alone it seemed. He should have expected it. Lilac was not stupid enough to dare attack him without back-up and he knew it. Memphis wheeled around and held his spinning sword in front of him to shield himself from Natalya as she came thundering towards him. The she-dragon skidded to a halt and held up her katana defensively, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

"Ah my beautiful Natalya...you've come after me again." Memphis purred, "You really must still have a spark for me if you're chasing after me like this."

"Save it you monster!" Natalya retorted, "I'm here to take you down once and for all for what you've done to me, Lilac and my best friend! And..."

Natalya paused as she saw Lilac kneeling on the floor, still clutching her bleeding stumps and fighting back the urge to cry. Her tendrils lay behind her, useless to her and completely severed. The sight sickened Natalya and she looked back over to Memphis.

"You cut off my daughter's tendrils?!" she shrieked, "You...you bastard! Cutting off a dragon's tendrils is sacrilege! How dare you cut off Lilac's tendrils!"

"It was her own fault for getting too close to my sword whilst it was spinning." the fire dragon sneered, "And now I'm going to cut off your tendril so I can keep it along with Lilac's as a trophy to remember the day I put you out of my misery!"

He then proceeded to throw his spinning sword at his ex-girlfriend. The deadly flashing blades scythed through the air towards the former villainess but she dodged the attack by leaping to the side and letting the weapon whoosh past her. Natalya landed on her side but quickly picked herself up. She roared viciously as she charged towards Memphis, her eyes full of hate and anger. She'd never felt so much hate for somebody, even Lilac when they had been enemies. She channelled all her hate into the katana she wielded and swung it towards the fire dragon. Memphis spat a spear of flame at Natalya but the martial artist blocked it with a swing of her sword. That was enough to slow her down long enough for Memphis to retrieve his weapon. But he had no time to get it spinning as Natalya ran after him and swung her katana at his face. Memphis blocked the blow with his own sword, the metal of the blades clashing loudly together as they hit. Lilac got up onto her feet and turned around to see Natalya and Memphis clashing swords with each other. She was thrilled to see her surrogate mother helping her fight Memphis. She decided to watch for a moment as the last spasms of pain in her head eased away. Memphis and Natalya swung at each other, their weapons nothing more than blurs as the blades scythed towards each other and clashed heavily, the sound ringing in their wielder's ears as they hit. Memphis blocked two attacks from Natalya with each blade, swinging up and down to counter attack his former love's single blade. Then suddenly, he jumped backwards through the air to get some distance away from her, his sword spinning like a fan in front of him as he jumped backwards. He jumped surprisingly far and landed near the door of the throne room. Natalya ran towards him, taking in the fact Memphis's sword was spinning but not letting it falter her.

Memphis slashed towards her the moment Natalya was in distance but the woman jumped aside and landed beside the door. The red-skinned criminal advanced on the former criminal menacingly, his sword still spinning, but Natalya opened the door and swung it into him. Because his weapon was held vertically, the door received no damage as it slammed into Memphis and made him stumble backwards. Natalya then proceeded to kick the door off of its hinges and send it flying into her ex-boyfriend like an oncoming train. Memphis swung his spinning blades in front of him and chopped the door into matchsticks just before it could hit him. But Natalya hadn't just intended for the door to actually hit Memphis. She had beckoned on the door distracting him long enough for her to run around behind the fire dragon and strike him from behind. Memphis heard Natalya approaching just after the door had been destroyed but by the time he registered that Natalya was behind him, the mauve-scaled dragon rammed into his back with her shoulder, tackling him down onto the floor. Memphis's sword stopped spinning as he fell over onto his stomach and he grunted in pain. Natalya slammed her elbow down onto Memphis's back and then raised the katana, aiming the bottom of the handle at the back of Memphis's head. One swift blow from her would knock him clean out. But Memphis wasn't intending to go down so easily. His tendril reached up and just as Natalya's hands came swinging down towards him, it caught her wrists and the two ends wrapped around them like ropes binding her hands together. Natalya tried to get free but the fire dragon's tendril held on tightly to her wrists. And then to make her get off, his tendril swung her arms to the side and pulled her off of his back. The she-dragon hit her shoulder hard on the floor and before she could do anything, Memphis picked himself up and let go of her wrists. He had his double-sword back in his hands and he swung it at Natalya. One of the blades clashed against Natalya's katana and for a moment, the two dragons were crossing swords at face level, pushing down on each other and trying to force either one back.

"Do you really think you can save the girl?" Memphis sneered, "For her sake, surrender."

"I'm not making deals with you!" Natalya spat venomously.

"Then we'll let HER make one shall we?"

Before Natalya could react, Memphis suddenly swung his sword upwards, throwing her arms and sword upwards and leaving her open for a moment. That little moment was enough for Memphis to raise his leg and kick Natalya straight in the gut, throwing her down onto her back and leaving her wincing in pain. Lilac gasped in horror as she watched her uncle advancing on Natalya, weapon in hand and ready to claim her life. The teen-dragon ran over to the two but stopped as soon as Memphis held his sword above Natalya's head. He could plunge it straight down onto her and kill her in an instant. The martial artist didn't dare move in fear of skewering herself on the blade just centimetres above her. Memphis turned to face Lilac and he smirked triumphantly at her.

"Lilac my girl, you can either surrender now…or your new mother dies." he purred, "Your choice Lilac. And make it quick…"

He pressed the tip of the bottom blade against Natalya's forehead. The sharp point was only poking lightly at the dragon's skin but Lilac knew right away that if Memphis pushed down any harder, Natalya's life would be over before she could register any pain at all. It would be one of the most gruesome deaths in Avalician history. But Lilac knew that she couldn't surrender, not while she and Natalya had the best chance possible of detaining Memphis at last. Surrendering now would undermine all their hard work in trying to stop him. But then suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the flagship and tore a hole out of one side of the throne room. It was as if an invisible hand had suddenly dug its nails into the wall and ripped a piece out of it. Memphis was so startled that he fell over backwards, giving Natalya the chance to get back to her feet and get ready to battle some more. Lilac took position beside her foster parent and prepared for another fight. What had caused the explosion that had saved hers and Natalya's lives? She soon got her answer as she looked through the hole and saw quite possibly, the most wonderful sight she could be seeing in this battle right now. It was King Dail's flagship! The Shuigang Sky Battalion had arrived at last and was now doing battle against the Shang Mu fleet! Dail's ship had taken position beside Memphis's ship to cripple it and render it defenceless. It had fired a missile at the side of the ship, tearing a huge chunk out of the wall so it would be easy to invade the ship and apprehend him now and the force of the explosion had taken out some of the turrets positioned nearby. Lilac and Natalya silently thanked Dail for arriving at just the right time. Memphis looked out of the hole in the wall and gasped in disbelief.

"King Dail's mutinying against me too?!" he blustered.

"Of course he is!" snapped Lilac, "He wasn't gonna just let you take his kingdom as well as The Magister's! He wants you out of power just as much as we do!"

"You may as well give up now Memphis." Natalya said coldly, "Your fleet is losing numbers thanks to our friends sabotaging the ships and now King Dail's fleet is here. You cannot win against two Battalions. Surrender now or die horribly."

"I'm not losing everything I've worked hard for now!" Memphis shouted angrily, "I've planned all of this for too long to just lose it all in a heartbeat! I'll take your lives first and then I'll disappear until the time is right for me to strike again! And with you two gone, I'll have nobody to get in my way the next time!"

He then stood in a battle-ready stance with his knees bent and his feet apart, his centre of gravity perfectly balanced and his arms held out in front of him. He held his sword vertically and set it to spin once again. The twin blades swept through the air in front of him like a pair of rotors. They quickly become nothing more than a blur that circled around in front of him. The motors in the ring mechanism whirred eerily loud as they turned the blades around faster and faster. Lilac and Natalya both held back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It was dangerous to try and get close to Memphis, especially since his sword was now spinning at top speed. They were going so fast that Lilac wondered how Memphis wasn't flying into the air yet. The dragon then suddenly had an idea on how to get past her uncle. She ran towards him and then suddenly leapt into the air in a Dragon-Cyclone manoeuvre. The attack wasn't meant to hit Memphis though, it was to further propel her up into the air. Memphis looked up and saw his spinning niece fly over him in a twirling fashion. She looked like a graceful ballerina as she spun through the air and over him. Without her tendrils, her Dragon-Cyclone didn't look as intimidating as it usually did. The dragon-girl landed behind Memphis and before the fire dragon could turn around and cut her to pieces, she launched a heavy kick into his back. She hit him in the centre of his spine, sending waves of pain flaring up his back and causing him to cry out in pain. His sword stopped spinning so that he could avoid potentially injuring himself as he cried out in agony. Now exposed, Natalya came rushing towards him and she kicked the double-edged sword out of Memphis's hand. The sword hurled over Lilac's head and fell out of the hole in the wall. It plummeted down from the ship and spun away towards the ground below, never to be used again.

Memphis growled angrily at losing his weapon and he proceeded to breathe a jet of flames at Natalya for causing him to lose it. Natalya screeched loudly as the flames whooshed over her, scalding many parts of her arms, chest and face and leaving her in total agony. Even her katana was now too hot to hold from the flames heating up the metal and she forcibly dropped it to save her hands being burnt as well. Memphis ran over to the katana but before he could seize it, Lilac pile-dived him in the back, purposefully hitting him where she'd kicked him earlier to add more pain to her uncle. The fire dragon cried out as he was hit and Lilac proceeded to throw a punch in-between his eyes while he was distracted momentarily. The punch sent him staggering towards the hole in the wall and he could now feel the night air drifting into the room on his back. Memphis ignored the draft and he waited for his niece to come charging at him. With any luck, he could probably grab her and throw her out through the hole and send her falling to her death. But just as Lilac was in range, she jumped up into the air and dropkicked Memphis in the face before he could make a grab for her. The fire dragon's head snapped backwards as he was kicked and for a moment, he staggered back towards the edge of the floor and nearly fell through the hole in the wall behind him. He just managed to keep his balance and prevent himself from falling. Lilac decided that since he was so close to falling out of the hole, she'd hold back since she didn't want Memphis dead. She allowed him to get away from the edge and lunge at her. Memphis's fist sailed towards Lilac, aiming directly for her face but the dragon girl dodged his attack and punched him in the face, hitting him on the bridge of his nose. The fire dragon reeled back but quickly retaliated by punching Lilac in the cut on her cheek he'd inflicted on her earlier. The punch caused the cut to sting in protest, making Lilac wince and grit her teeth to try and hold in her pain. Memphis then slugged the young dragon in the gut and slammed a powerful fist onto her head. Lilac fell down onto the floor and clutched her head as it throbbed madly. Memphis reached down to grab Lilac so he could throw her out through the hole in the wall but Lilac grabbed his wrists, picked herself up and pulled him forwards so she could knee him heavily in the gut. Memphis coughed hoarsely as the wind was knocked out of his lungs but he recovered and yanked his hands out of Lilac's grip.

The two dragons prepared to finish each other off but just before another punch could be thrown, Dail's ship fired another missile at the flagship in its attempt to disarm it or scare Memphis into surrendering. The missile hit the port side of the ship just near the bow, rocking it slightly and causing it to lean to the side a little bit. Lilac and Memphis found themselves being tilted towards the hole that was their gateway to doom as the ship tilted. Memphis lost his balance and fell backwards, plunging out of the hole and to his seeming demise. Lilac fell forwards and slid towards the hole but the ship managed to regain its position just before she could fall out of it. Half of her body passed through the hole and Lilac scrabbled furiously with her hands to keep herself from falling all the way out of it. Memphis was outside the ship but he was clinging onto a mooring rope that didn't look as if it'd be able to hold his weight. It had been scorched from the first attack and would snap at any moment now. He tried to climb up it but he was losing his strength. The fight had drained him physically and the cold night air didn't offer new strength to him. Lilac was weakened from the fight too but because only half of her was over the edge, she could pull herself to safety. Her feet caught traction on the surface of the hull and she managed to push herself back into the ship, panting and gasping with relief.

"Whew...that was lucky...I would've joined Spade in a straight plummet to certain death if things had decided to go wrong..." she gasped.

The moment Lilac was safe, the burnt but very much still conscious Natalya ran over to her surrogate daughter and was quick to embrace her. Lilac wasn't sure if she wanted to hug Natalya back in fear of causing her pain from the burns inflicted on her by Memphis but she ended up doing it anyway, hugging her lightly just in case.

"Oh my special little Lilac, are you alright?" Natalya asked, her voice full of concern.

"I'm fine thanks." Lilac replied softly, "I'm just relieved that I managed to save myself from falling out of the ship. Are you alright?"

"I'm a little burnt as you can see and it stings like crazy but I'll be fine." the elder dragon said casually, "I've had worse. Say, where's Memphis?"

"Didn't he fall to his death?" Lilac asked curiously.

She soon got her answer for outside the hole she'd nearly fallen out of, Memphis called out to her.

"Help me! Lilac! Help me!"

Lilac instinctively jumped up and ran over to the edge to see where Memphis was. She was surprised that he hadn't fallen yet. Surely the explosion had rocked the ship enough for him to fall straight out of the hole? She peered out of the hole and saw that Memphis was clinging onto a mooring rope. It was coming dangerously close to snapping right now. It was a few threads away from breaking. Memphis glanced up at Lilac with terror-filled eyes that looked out of place on his face. She'd never seen Memphis looking so scared before in her life. But Lilac didn't feel anything resembling pity for her uncle. She just glared down at him with hate-filled eyes. Memphis forced a queasy smile to his face. It made him look pathetic more than anything.

"You must help me Lilac! I'll fall if you don't!" Memphis begged pathetically, "Pull me up! Get me something to grab onto! Anything! Please help me!"

Lilac didn't move. It was as if she wanted to watch Memphis's lifeline snap and send him plummeting to his death. The desperate dragon tried again.

"Please Lilac...you wouldn't leave your own uncle for dead now would you?" he whimpered.

Lilac's gaze narrowed in a hardcore scowl that carried all the hate in the world on her face.

"You're not my uncle...you're no family of mine..." she said coldly, "You're a monster Memphis. You killed mom and dad, got me exiled for your own personal gain and subjugated Shang Mu. And you've also attempted to kill me and my friends. You don't deserve to live. You can join Spade in death. You mean nothing to me now...you're dead to me. Goodbye Memphis. And GOOD RIDDANCE!"

She spat the last two words out as if wanting Memphis to remember them from now until his demise. The fire dragon could only stare in horror at his niece, unable to believe that she'd actually said those words to him. He had no idea that Lilac hated him this much to actually willingly leave him to die. Lilac stood watching, clearly wanting to see her uncle die at last.

"Lilac, don't leave me! You've got to help me! Lilac! LILAC!"

The rope finally snapped, its final thread making a loud snapping sound as the only thing keeping Memphis from falling broke away. It was as if his lifeline had just been cut and now there was only death coming for him. The fire dragon let out a blood-curdling scream as he fell away from his flagship and plunged down towards the ground far below. There was nothing he could do, nothing that could save him now. Memphis was history at last. Lilac watched as her wicked uncle fell to his death. He disappeared into the darkness below, never to be seen again. They would probably salvage his dead body once morning came for Avalice again. Regardless, Memphis was gone forever, never to cast his evil shadow over Lilac's life again. She turned away from the hole in the wall and muttered under her breath.

"Goodbye and good riddance Memphis..."

As soon as she said those words, she dropped down onto her knees and suddenly, for seemingly no reason at all, she began to cry. She covered her eyes with her blood stained, gloved hands and wept into them. Her shoulders heaved as she cried. Natalya knelt down beside her crying daughter and patted her softly on the back.

"My dear child, why in the world are you crying?" she asked concernedly.

"Because I'm so happy!" Lilac wailed, "Memphis is gone for good! He can't ruin my life anymore! And...and...mom and dad can rest in peace now he's gone! Oh Natalya, I'm so, so happy right now!"

She then threw her arms around her foster mother and wept happily into her shoulder. Natalya hugged Lilac back and shed some tears of her own. It was finally over. Memphis's dark shadow was no longer cast over their lives. The damages he'd done had been fixed and now their lives could continue how they were meant to go...happy and prosperous.

"Dawn...Stephen...you've been avenged at last." she whispered, "Your daughter is finally free from your killer's evil presence..."

She imagined that if Dawn and Stephen could hear her now, they would be expressing nothing more than delight and joy over the news. This was quite possibly the best night of her entire life and she would remember it until the day she died. And Lilac would do just the same. As the two dragons embraced their delight over being free of the biggest monster that ever entered their lives, some Avalicians ran into the throne room. It was Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela, Clifford and Neera. They had decided to join the two dragons on the flagship at last and they'd found them. Carol ran over to the two, worried for them because they were crying.

"Lilac! What's the matter?" she asked, "Why are you crying? And...what happened to your hair?!" she shrieked, noticing the missing tendrils and gasping in horror.

"Memphis cut my hair off but don't worry." Lilac said, wiping her eyes dry, "The Magister's healing spa will fix that. As for why I was crying...it's because I'm happy. Memphis is dead at last! We've won! We've beaten him and saved our kingdoms once again!"

Her friends murmured amongst each other, amazed yet delighted to hear what had happened. It seemed that their efforts paid off at last. They'd won the battle and Memphis was dead! What good news they had to give to the three kingdoms of Avalice!

"Memphis is dead?" gasped Carol, "Well I can't say I'll miss him but what happened? You didn't do it did you?"

"No, King Dail's fleet arrived and he blew a hole in the wall with his ship." explained Lilac, "Then he shot this ship again and it caused Memphis to fall out of the hole. How fitting that he has the same kind of demise that Spade does I must say..."

"Spade's dead as well?" piped Natalya.

"Yeah. Carol and he fell over the edge of a ship and I saved Carol." the dragon replied, "I wanted to save Spade but then...I dunno, he either committed suicide and let go or he lost his grip and fell. Either way, we'll never see him again either."

"I wonder what King Dail will think to that?" Neera wondered, thinking about the royal panda she'd once served before defecting to Shang Tu.

"Who knows. But I can definitely say that I'm not bothered by his death." Natalya muttered, "I didn't like him much anyway, even when I was the Red Scarves's leader."

"Well he and Memphis can join each other in hell where they belong!" Carol declared, "Now they're both gone and all. As for us? We've got something better than a dead guy to cheer over."

"That's right!" piped Milla gleefully, "We've saved Shang Tu and stopped Memphis! Hooray! Now Shang Mu can have Zao back as their leader and we can enjoy our lives with Lilac again!"

"That's absolutely right Milla." Lilac said brightly, "Once this is all over, we can go home and rest up and then tomorrow, we begin my first day back with you guys after my exile. And I SO look forward to it!"

The others smiled happily, agreeing with their draconian friend. They were looking forward to tomorrow too. After a week of missing Lilac, it would be wonderful to once again spend the day with her and enjoy her company. Before anybody could go anywhere though, a loud roar of engines caught their attention and made them glance over to the hole in the wall. It was Dail's flagship. It was coming close to the Shang Mu flagship. What was it doing? Was it going to crash into the ship? No, it had stopped with the point of its bow just inches away from the ship's damaged hull. Dail was wanting to invade the ship. Once the ship had stopped, Dail sped towards the hole in a train of after-images and jumped through it. He landed on the floor and found himself gazing at a lovely sight. Lilac and her friends all together and looking as if they were victorious.

"Hello your majesty." Lilac said, politely bowing to the king. Everybody else bowed down with her.

"Lilac!" Dail exclaimed, running towards the dragon and shaking her hand delightedly, "Oh sweet relief, it's good to see you again! I heard from The Magister that you'd come back to us because of Clifford the Old Sage and I was hoping to see you in this battle!"

"And now you have." Lilac said with a wink, "It's good to see you too Dail. Your fleet arrived just in time to help us."

"I could've been quicker..." the king sighed, "Shang Tu's lost almost half its fleet. And you yourself look terrible!" he gasped, taking in Lilac's cuts, burns and missing tendrils, "You look as if you've been through hell and back!"

"I kinda have..." the dragon muttered.

"I'll say." said Dail grimly, "But luckily with the Shang Tu Battalion, General Gong isn't one of the casualties in the fight and what's left of his fleet's moving in to surround this ship. With my help, and presumably the help of all of you too, the Shang Mu fleet has been completely annihilated. This ship is all that remains now."

"So we can say goodbye to the Red Scarves forever too..." Carol noted.

"So Memphis recruited them...should've known really." Dail said "Oh and speaking of Memphis...where is he?"

"He had a rather nasty fall..." Lilac simply replied with a dry smile on her face...

* * *

 _ **Yay, the heroes are victorious again! Yahoo! So now Lilac's life can return to normal! Tune in next time for the final chapter as we get some "Celebrations" and Lilac gets a very pleasant surprise...;)**_


	10. Chapter 10: Celebrations

_Chapter 10: Celebrations_

A full hour had passed since the fighting had ended and Shang Tu's Sky Battalion had returned home to Shang Tu. Shuigang's fleet had returned home too sans King Dail's ship. He had wanted to join The Magister for something that he wanted to be a part of before returning to his kingdom so his ship had followed the remainders of Shang Tu's Sky Battalion back to the blue-coloured kingdom. Once everybody had arrived and the fleet was docked, Lilac and friends entered the Royal Palace with General Gong and Neera Li leading them inside. Once they were inside, they were led up to the throne room by the two pandas and Neera knocked on the door. The Magister allowed them in and they entered the room. The Magister and Zao looked evidently pleased to see that everybody had made it back in one piece. They were quick to notice Lilac and Natalya's injuries, especially the former's missing tendrils and thus, The Magister offered to let the two have a moment together in his healing spa before they could chat to him. The two dragons accepted the offer and now they were both out of their clothes and lying in the lovely warm water of the spa. They could feel their injuries healing up as they relaxed. Lilac's cut and burns were fading and her tendrils were beginning to grow back. Natalya's burns were healing and the stinging was easing. The two dragons would never know how The Magister had managed to get such a magical bath but they were eternally grateful for it. Their injuries were healing faster than they would have done naturally and in no time at all, they'd be back to normal. Lilac watched as her tendrils began to grow back, slowly and steadily as the spa's magic worked on her. She wondered if the bath could heal a missing arm or leg if somebody with such an injury stepped into the bath. She'd had the same thought when the healing spa healed her from Lord Brevon's torture last year.

"It always amazes me what a dip in this bath can do to ya." Lilac said as her tendrils finished re-growing, "I mean look at this!"

"Just a few minutes in here and your twin tendrils have regrown." Natalya said with an impressed smile on her face, "I guess that's how you got them back after Brevon supposedly cut them off."

"Indeed." Lilac nodded, remembering how when Natalya and Brevon had teamed up, she had mentioned this to Natalya, "I bet you were well angry to hear Brevon had done that to me since cutting off a dragon's hair is sacrilege."

"I was when you mentioned it but at the time, as you probably figured out, I lied to put up a pretence in front of the alien monster." the elder dragon said grimly, "When I fought him that day, some of my anger was from the fact he'd done that to you last year. I absolutely HATE it when somebody cuts off a dragon's tendrils! It's the ultimate, disgraceful way of violating them! The tendrils add to their grace and beauty. Cut them off, you're violating their beauty and that's why it angers me so much…"

"I gathered from how angry you were at Memphis for doing that…" the young dragon murmured, "Say um, sorry to mention Memphis again but…did he ever tell you about his past at all?"

"I suppose he told you about his sad childhood to try and ignite sympathy from you did he?" Natalya muttered bitterly.

"I'll take that as a yes." Lilac replied, "Well um…is it true?"

Natalya nodded slowly, circling her fingers around in the water and making ripples that reached out to the edges of the spa.

"Oh yes. Every bit of it." she confirmed, "Stephen even told me how he'd abandoned him and his parents just to get away from the racism he was plagued with in his home town of Shogun. I didn't believe Memphis would do that at the time but didn't express my disbelief to your father in fear of upsetting him."

"I see. And how did you feel when Memphis told you his story?" Lilac asked.

"I pitied him. I'd had a bad childhood myself as you know so I had every right to sympathize with him." Natalya said, "But when he killed Dawn and Stephen, any sympathy I had for him was gone. Gone like a snap of the fingers. I had a bad childhood but I didn't go around killing people so how could I sympathize with him after he'd done that?"

"And yet mom's death really affected you in the worst way possible…" the teen-dragon mused.

"That was because, as you know, she was the first person who ever showed me love and compassion." the former crime boss noted, "She kept me sane after my horrible experiences and the killing of my parents. Memphis took her away from me…and my sanity slipped. But now I've seen the light and unlike Memphis, I strive to redeem myself."

"Given how much good you've done for us lately, I'd say you've more than redeemed yourself Natalya." Lilac said with a smile, "Mom would be so proud of you for striving to better yourself."

Natalya smiled with pleasure at her adopted daughter. No wonder she loved her so much. Lilac was such a sweet child just like her mother before her. Dawn really did live on in Lilac and that was what made her so special to her. She was the last piece of her best friend she had now and she was all too happy to treasure Lilac for years to come.

"Lilac…your kindness never ceases to impress me. That was a lovely thing to say." the draconian woman said softly.

"You deserve it Natalya." the draconian girl said kindly, "You did bad things but you're sorry you did them and want nothing more than to be good again. You deserve my kindness for that. And I'd like for you to know that I'm happy I decided to let you adopt me. With you around…it's like a piece of my mom is back in my life again."

"Given I was her best friend, I witnessed her wedding and held you as a baby, I can see why you think that darling." Natalya said brightly, "I was as much a part of your life as your father and mother and even your uncle."

"Please…don't call Memphis "my uncle". He's no family of mine after what he's done…" Lilac said grimly, shuddering despite the warm water she was bathing in.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." Natalya apologized.

"It's OK." Lilac said, "Though one last question in regards to him and then we'll never mention him again."

"Oh yes? What is it?"

"What happened to that crazy cult that shaped him into the bad guy he became?"

Natalya was slightly taken aback by the question. She supposed she should've known Lilac was going to ask that question. She had never told her the cult's fate before and Memphis clearly hadn't told her either. It was now time that Lilac got her answer.

"They were arrested, every single member." explained Natalya, "You see, before I went mad and formulated the Red Scarves, I sent an anonymous tip to the three kingdoms explaining where the cult was located. All the armies of the three kingdoms stormed their hideout and arrested the entire cult. They were considered too dangerous to be kept alive though so they were all secretly executed. I only know this because I spied on them just to see what was going to happen to them. Their deaths were kept so secret that literally only me and Memphis ever know what really happened to them. Everybody else assumed the cult had been sentenced to exile or something along those lines. Some even thought they died from natural causes or some disease. But now I'm the only one who knows their true fate…and now you do as well Lilac. But you MUST NOT tell anybody this. Remember, executions aren't allowed anymore so telling about this could cause the kingdoms to doubt their leaders. I didn't tell anybody because I was glad the cult was gone."

Lilac took in what she'd heard in total disbelief. So it seemed that the three kingdoms of Avalice had something to hide the whole time. They had executed a cult of fanatic dragons that had delusions of grandeur and very bigoted views on themselves for the safety of the entire world despite the fact that executions had been outlawed. But Lilac supposed it was for the best. The cult deserved to die. It had turned Memphis into the biggest monster that had ever plagued Lilac's life. If the cult hadn't existed then Memphis would never have caused so much damage to her life. Her parents wouldn't be dead, Natalya wouldn't have turned evil and her exile would never have happened. All the things Memphis did were the fault of those bigoted dragons. They had also influenced Natalya in some way for after turning evil, she had started following their visions and ideals for the world. And yet Natalya had been the one to rat them out.

"That...that's quite surprising Natalya...but I don't understand. Why did you start acting like them despite the fact you got them killed?" Lilac asked.

"I did it to spite Memphis for killing Dawn and Stephen. I still followed their morals and such but the whole thing was done for revenge more than anything." the older dragon explained, "Though now I kinda feel bad about doing so since I basically got several of my own kind killed. Then again, ancient dragon scrolls I once read did say that dragons can only kill other dragons if they're a threat to the world. The cult was a threat so they had to die. If they were still around now, Avalice would have had more than me, Brevon or even Memphis to deal with..."

"So in a way, you kinda saved us all by squealing on the cult..." the heroine of Avalice murmured, "Guess we could call it your last act of heroism before you went bad."

"I guess so my dear. But we don't need to think about that cult or my days as a villainess anymore...those days are over now, for all of us." Natalya said, "Now, the present is what matters. Me and you are together as mother and daughter and the demons that plagued our lives can no longer stand in our way. Our lives are still ahead of us child, and I'm glad that I'll be living the rest of it with a wonderful little girl like you."

"Aww thank you Natalya. That's very kind of you to say." said Lilac appreciatively, "And I'm glad that we're starting our relationship all over again...as allies instead of enemies. Oh I wish mom could see us now..."

"I'm sure she's looking down on us from the heavens Lilac..." Natalya said with a warm, motherly smile on her face, "And she's probably smiling at us now."

Lilac grinned from ear to ear as the pleasant image of her mother looking down on her with a loving smile on her face filled her head. What a lovely image it was and the very thought made Lilac feel warm inside. Dawn and Stephen would be so happy to see their beloved daughter being best of friends with Natalya and forgiving her for all the bad things she had done in her life. Their daughter was united with their best friend. What union between two dragons could possibly be better for them...?

* * *

A few minutes later, the two dragons had finally finished healing from their injuries in the healing spa and once they'd gotten dressed again, they walked back into the throne room to meet The Magister. He was joined with Zao and Dail in the room, the two pandas standing on either side of him and smiling at the sight of the two dragons. Carol, Milla, Miguel, Lela and Clifford all stood before the leaders and they turned to see the two dragons coming to meet them. They smiled, pleased to see them looking so much better now. They were pleased with Lilac in particular for she now had her famous "hair" back. General Gong and Neera Li stood to attention and they bowed before the two draconian females as they entered. Lilac and Natalya bowed back and then turned to face the three leaders. Zao and Dail looked happy to see them whereas The Magister remained as he always did, blank and hard to read. But his relaxed stance suggested he was happy to see them too. The leaders all bowed before the two dragons. Lilac and Natalya bowed back politely. Then the leaders rose up and The Magister spoke, his deep voice cutting through the silence.

"We have heard all about your successes in the battle over Jade Creek." explained The Magister, "Your friends apprised us on everything whilst you were bathing. And I must say...I am proud of you for your efforts, especially you young Lilac. Could you step forward?"

Lilac nodded and stood forward. She knelt down before the three leaders and waited to hear what they had to say.

"Not only did you come up with a great, strategic plan that saved most of my fleet but you managed to fend off Memphis and come out on top despite the loss of your famous appendages." the royal Avalician said, "You deserve all our love and thanks for your heroism today dragon blood. And it's because of this that we three can now say the words we've been longing to say for a week..."

Lilac smiled, knowing what was going to come next.

"Your sentence is overturned and your are allowed back in our kingdoms and all the lands the kingdoms own." The Magister announced.

"We were all too happy to agree on that, especially since everybody knows your innocent now." Dail said brightly.

"And this decision is by far the best one I've made in a while." Zao added, "Welcome back Lilac."

"Thank you so much your majesties. Thank you." Lilac said appreciatively, "I'm so glad that you're letting me back into the kingdoms I once swore to protect. You have my sincerest thanks."

"You can thank Memphis also since he pretty much gave us the excuse we needed to overturn your sentence." Dail noted.

"So I guess he did something good for once. Bet that makes him mad..." the she-dragon muttered, "Speaking of Memphis, are you gonna comb Jade Creek for his body at all?"

"Certainly." The Magister declared, "Once we find his body, we can have him buried and have a gravestone to mark where he is so that we can confirm to the world that he's gone."

"I doubt he'll have anybody bidding him farewell..." Lilac muttered nonchalantly.

"He won't be getting flowers from ME! That's for sure!" Zao declared hotly, "I mean after what he did, he deserves a lonely funeral!"

"Can't argue with that." said Lilac agreeably, "Say Zao, are you now officially the Mayor of Shang Mu again since Memphis is gone?"

"Indeed so." the red panda announced, "If the winner of the elections resigns or dies before his years are completed, either a new election is hosted or the previous mayor returns to the seat depending on the circumstances. As I'm still alive, I can take back my seat until the next elections commence in four years time. I assure you though, I will NOT make the mistakes I did that led up to this mess again. I'm going to be a much better mayor than I ever was, and all in your name Lilac. You saved many lives today and saved my kingdom. It's the least I could do to honour your heroism."

 **5+ HONOUR**

Lilac nodded at Zao. The mayor seemed very genuine in his claims. It seemed that he'd been changed for the better by the whole experience. She certainly appreciated the mayor's kind words despite the fact that he had unwillingly caused all of this to happen in the first place.

"I'm still not ready to forgive you yet...but thank you." she said softly, "That's very kind of you to better yourself in my name. It's a start in earning my forgiveness and I appreciate it."

"Glad to hear it my friend." Zao said brightly, "Shang Mu owes you its eternal thanks for your heroism tonight."

"And I'm grateful for it. It's good to be welcomed and appreciated again." Lilac said, looking at all three of the rulers, "Though just know this. I'm not the hero I am because I want a good rep. Not anymore. I'm what I am because I love my planet and I'll do anything I can to protect it. Promise me you'll remember that next time it looks as if I've gone bad or anything OK?"

"That is a promise we intend to keep." The Magister announced, "We will never forget your love for our world and the reason you fight for our lives, serenity and freedom. If your allegiance is doubtful ever again, we won't jump to conclusions. We will instead be on your side and help you fight what's controlling you to return the favour for what you've done for us."

"I'm very happy to hear that your majesty." Lilac said graciously, "You all have my eternal thanks for your generosity and for welcoming me home like this. It means so much to me."

"You've saved our world on many occasions and fought off criminals who threatened our peace, you deserve all our thanks." Dail declared.

"Thank you. Oh and Dail? I'm sorry for what happened to Spade..." the dragon said, her expression becoming a little sad, "I know he's family and all and I tried to save him but..."

"It's OK Lilac." the king said gently, "Carol told me what happened to my brother. I don't blame it on you at all. I'll admit that despite being a criminal and being part of those evil Red Scarves...he was still family and I did kinda hope that he could be turned eventually. It's sad that that'll never happen...but Spade brought it on himself. People who embrace the criminal life seldom get rewarded in the end as they say. At least he won't ever steal from us again."

"Yeah...I suppose so." Lilac murmured, "Anyway, is that all for now?"

"It is indeed Lilac." The Magister said, "You may go home now. Your REAL home of course."

"Thank you. Goodbye your majesties. And it's been my utmost honour to save your kingdoms again." the dragon said with one final bow.

"Goodbye Lilac. And thank you for coming back to us." The Magister said, bowing to Lilac along with Dail and Zao.

With the meeting now over, Lilac turned around and walked towards her friends. They all had big, smiling faces that suggested they were very pleased with how things had gone between her and the rulers. Her reputation was restored. She was the heroine of Avalice once again, no longer feared or doubted by any and she was no longer sentenced to exile. She could come home and live back in her tree house again. This was easily the best night they'd experienced all week and they would remember it forever and ever. Lilac smiled back at her friends, pleased to see their smiling faces. What a night this had been! Reunited with her friends again after a week of missing them, her uncle finally dead and out of her life and now she was allowed to return home and pretend her exile had never happened! This was a night Lilac wasn't going to forget anytime soon and she knew it. With nothing left to stay for, Lilac and her friends left the Royal Palace and began heading off home for the one place Lilac wanted to be more than anywhere in the world. Her beloved tree house. It would be good to be back in the tree house again and be sleeping in a bed instead of in a shelter and having proper food instead of having to steal it from delivery trucks.

"So Lilac, what shall we do once we get home?" asked Carol.

"Well, we'll all get some shut eye since it's quite late and I'm pretty pooped after tonight." Lilac decided, "And tomorrow, we can all set up a buffet table, hang up some balloons and banners and have a big party to celebrate my come back. What do you think?"

"I love it! It sounds like fun!" Milla squealed delightedly.

"And it'll be even better since my grandpa can join us!"" exclaimed Carol excitedly, "You could use some of your magic to make the party really something to remember grandpa!"

"I suppose I could sweetie." Clifford chuckled, "I'd love to be a part of this party. I haven't experienced one in five years! I was a big party animal when I was a youngster and I've quite missed the feeling of excitement and joy one receives from a party."

"We're glad you can join us Clifford." Lilac said brightly, "And we're glad to have you part of our family too."

"I hope the house has a spare room for him." Miguel noted, "Where will he sleep if there isn't?"

"He can share a room with Natalya if he wants." Lilac suggested, "Is that OK Natalya?"

"I suppose I can share with him." Natalya said kindly, "He did save our lives earlier so what need have I to say no to him?"

"Well if you're OK with sharing a room with me Natalya, that's fine with me." Clifford said brightly, "I'm just flattered that you're all letting me live with you in Lilac's tree house. It's very kind of you to offer me a space in your home."

"You're welcome Clifford." Lilac said kindly, "Consider it a token of gratitude for offering me food and shelter when I was in exile and also for saving our lives back in Shang Mu."

"It'll be wonderful having you living with us grandpa." Carol said gleefully, hugging her beloved grandparent lovingly.

Clifford could only smile and embrace his beloved grandchild in return. How wonderful it felt to be back in Carol's life again after five years of exile. When he had been sentenced, he had been convinced that he'd never see his granddaughter again. And yet here he was, five years later, back in Carol's life and embracing her again. And not only had he been allowed back in Carol's life, he was now being accepted as part of her new "family" in a way. He was not only with his granddaughter again, he was with her friends and being invited to live with them. If only his long lost daughter Amanda the Wildcat was here too to complete this happy image he was in now. Where was she and why couldn't he sense where she was? He put those thoughts aside as Lilac suddenly chipped in.

"We'll be veer happy to have you living with us Clifford." Lilac said brightly, "Your magic can be put to good use when we have to save people from villains and criminals and such and the fact you're Carol's grandfather will make you even more welcome in our lives. And I assure you, my tree house is very comfortable. There's plenty of space and plenty of conveniences. You'll settle down just fine."

"That sounds wonderful Lilac." Clifford replied.

"Thank you. And tomorrow, we're all in for a fun day when we get my liberation party started." the dragon said cheerfully, "But first, we're gonna need a good night's sleep. I'm actually looking forward to getting into bed for once!" she chuckled.

"Well you haven't slept in it for a week so no wonder!" Carol giggled in return.

The others chuckled, seeing the funny side of Lilac's remark. They were all ready for bed too, exhausted from tonight's events and in need of a good night's sleep. The Avalicians carried on heading back to the tree house with Lilac leading the way. Despite how dark it was, being close to midnight in fact, they could see well enough as they headed off back to Dragon Valley. Lilac found herself smiling as every step she took carried her closer to her tree house. Returning home at last. That's what it felt like to her and it was a grand feeling to finish off the day with...

* * *

The next day dawned bright and sunny. The sun shone brightly, its rays streaking through the leaves of the trees in the forest all around and making every inch of land that it shone upon look cheerful and happy. The sky was an endless sea of blue with not a single cloud in sight. The weather was warm and inviting which was expected from the summer season of Avalice. Upon returning to the tree house last night, Lilac and her friends had immediately gotten into their beds and fallen asleep quicker than even the world's laziest man. They had all slept heavily and peacefully and now the morning was here, bright and welcoming and peacefully enticing them out of their slumber. It was late in the morning, about 9:30, by the time everybody had gotten out of bed and gotten ready for breakfast. Clifford had decided to provide breakfast for everybody this morning, wanting to show the Basset family and Natalya his magic powers. He had single-handedly created a hearty breakfast of sausages, bacon, grapefruit and stacks of pancakes for everybody to share with a wave of his staff. To everybody's delight, the food tasted as good as it would have done if it was fresh and organic. Clifford had explained that he'd practiced hard on this spell to make sure that every scrap of food he created as 100% authentic and natural despite being created by magic. It was common for the spell to go wrong and the food ended up tasting artificer so he had made it his desire to get the spell right when he had first started learning it. The satisfied faces of everybody around the breakfast table told him how well he'd succeeded at it. Carol's face had made him the happiest of all since she was the one he'd often use his magic to make food for. It was good to see her eating his magically prepared meals again.

After breakfast, Lilac had decided to go out somewhere before they set up the big party to celebrate later. She was going to visit her parents' graves. They had been buried in Dragon Valley, something that they had requested in their wills as they felt the most fitting place for a pair of dragons to be buried was somewhere in the valley. Their graves were a half-hour walk away but Lilac made it there in a few minutes by running at top speed. She saw their headstones, still looking in good condition and barely disturbed by nature itself. They had been buried beside a tree with their initials carved in it. That very tree was where Stephen had proposed to Dawn and had been their first choice of where they wanted to be buried. Lilac felt tears coming to her eyes as she observed the tree. Her parents had shown it to her when she was five years old. She had been very touched by the sight and had decided that the tree was going to be a souvenir she would treasure for ever. She visited the tree whenever she could and was always happy to see nobody else had carved anything on it to ruin what was left of her parent's love. A simple carved love heart on the wood saying "Dawn & Stephen". She knelt down by her parents grave stones and laid down a bunch of flowers she had brought for them. She allowed some tears to trickle down her face as she laid down the flowers.

"A present for you mom and dad Hope you like it." she said to the gravestones as if hoping her parents could hear her through them, "I've got some good news for you both by the way. Your killer, Memphis, is dead at last. He died last night. He fell to his death. Now you're finally able to rest in peace with your killer gone for good. As for Natalya...me and her are friends again. No not friends...we're family. I let Natalya adopt me. She's my new mom now. I bet you're very happy to hear that."

In her mind, she could hear her parents expressing their delight over how happy they were that Natalya was good again and she was now mothering Lilac in Dawn's place. Their once best friend was the perfect person to be looking after their beloved daughter now. Lilac wiped her eyes dry and smiled at her parent's graves.

"Goodbye mom and dad. See you soon." she said, "And remember...I still love you very much. I miss you deeply but I know that you're still with me...in my heart. Rest in peace mom and dad...and see you again soon."

She had then left her parent's graves and headed off back home. There was a couple of hours left to kill before the party could begin setting up when she arrived back so Lilac had decided to spend the rest of the morning playing with Carol and Milla. Carol had given her a bike ride and Milla had taken her for a lovely morning flight. She could tell the girls had missed her company gravely during the horrible week she'd spent in exile. Every minute they had spent together felt as if this was the first time in years they'd ever played together. Lilac of course had enjoyed every single moment she'd spent with Carol and Milla. To her, her life was now back to normal because of this. She'd even decided to come up with something to play next with Carol and Milla following her lead due to how much she was enjoying herself. The dragon had challenged the two for a friendly running race to see who could keep up with her the longest. Carol had won the race but Milla had come surprisingly close to drawing with the wildcat. Lilac had been impressed and had enjoyed herself immensely as they had raced.

Now the afternoon had arrived and the party was ready to begin. While the children had been playing, the four adults had seen to setting up the whole thing. Miguel, Lela and Natalya had put up balloons and banners all over the living room. The biggest banner was sparkling silver with the words "Welcome Home Lilac!" stretched out across it. The balloons were helium filled, something Lilac had requested so they could have a contest to see who sounded the funniest after sucking in helium. Clifford had been given the most obvious task of all, the buffet table. He had used his great magic to prepare a grand feast for the party. There were nibbles and snacks galore on the table ranging from sushi to crisps to little cocktail sausages, salads, cheese boards, meat platters and much more. There was also a party-themed cake standing at one end of the table with the words "Welcome Home Lilac!" written in icing around the top. There were bottles of sofa that had been taken from the fridge since Clifford couldn't conjure up drinks himself set before the food with plastic cups for people to drink out of. The hounds had set up the radio and speaker systems so they could play party music as they feasted and played. The party was fully set up at last and the four adults waited for the kids to come home. They weren't waiting for long for Lilac, Carol and Milla arrived back at the house and upon entering, Miguel, Lela, Natalya and Clifford all popped some streamers each and yelled out loud "WELCOME HOME LILAC!" The dragon gasped delightedly at the pleasant sight before her, almost driven to tears by how wonderful the sight before her was. The house looked fabulous and the food looked good. With her hands over her heart, Lilac smiled graciously.

"Oh thank you so much! The place looks great guys!" she cried, "You all did a great job!"

"You're welcome." Natalya said brightly, "I will say, I'm quite looking forward to this. I've never really been part of a party before save for Dawn and Stephen's after-wedding party."

"Well now's your chance." Lilac said brightly, "Especially since this place looks amazing right now!"

"I'll say!" Carol piped excitedly, "This place already looks like Partysville and we haven't even started yet!"

"We did do our best sweetie." Lela said cheerfully, "Thank you."

"Welcome." the wildcat replied.

"I'm glad you like what my parents, Natalya and Carol's grandpa have done for you Lilac." Milla said sweetly, "So are we ready to have some fun?"

"Of course we are!" Lilac exclaimed, "I requested a party so let's party like we've never done before!"

"Oh yeah! Let's PARTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Carol shrieked at the top of her voice.

The next few minutes were spent having a grand time full of joy and fun. The Avalicians all took part in fun and games and feasted as much as they dared to. Lilac and Carol managed to get through two platefuls of food and still have room for the cake. Natalya had eaten a surprising amount too despite looking like the kind of person who didn't eat much. Miguel, Lela and Clifford didn't eat much but nonetheless were filled up from what they did consume. After the eating had ended, the party-goers had taken it easy by playing some games to let their food settle down. They had played pass the parcel, a game of mahjong, musical statues and some board games. They also hosted the "funniest voice" competitive Lilac had requested. Each Avalician had sucked up some helium and spoken a single sentence to see how funny their voices sounded. Natalya ended up winning the contest for everybody ended up agreeing that it sounded funny hearing their former enemy with such a high-pitched voice. Natalya had even laughed at herself, amazed at how funny she'd sounded with a throat full of helium. Now everybody felt like they'd settled down enough, Lilac switched the radio on and the whole group began to dance m eerily in time to the tunes that blared out of the radio. Lilac, Carol and Milla did their trademark dance moves as the music played. Miguel and Lela danced together, showing that they had great skill at the sport and were no strangers to it. Clifford just moved around slightly as if worried he would pull a muscle while dancing. Natalya, who had never danced before, tried copying what the others were doing. In the end, she ended up dancing the same way Lilac did, swaying her upper body back and forth and swinging her arms back and forth like she did. Lilac couldn't help but giggle at her foster mother. She looked weird when dancing but in a funny and somewhat charming way. The dancing had gone on for many minutes before the radio was switched off and everybody sat down to have a rest. Lilac wiped sweat off of her forehead and smiled at her friends.

"Whew that was epic! I haven't had this much fun in ages!" she gasped.

"It's the most fun I've ever had in my life." Natalya said, wiping beads of sweat away, "I never knew a party could be so much fun."

"Glad you enjoyed it." Carol said happily, "I know I did though I think I had a bit too much cake and soda..."

She then let fly a surprisingly loud belch that made everybody giggle childishly at her. Carol blushed but said nothing, instead choosing to laugh with her friends.

"This party was so much fun! Can we have another one?" asked Milla eagerly.

"Maybe when we have a birthday in this house we can sweetheart." Lela promised, smiling tenderly at her daughter.

"We'll try and make it as fun as this one was if we have another party." Miguel said, "Especially if said party if for Milla's birthday."

"Oh that sounds wonderful daddy!" Milla squealed excitedly, "I look forward to it!"

"I do too." Lilac put in, "A party like this would be great for Milla, Carol or even my own birthday when they come. I wonder if there's any birthdays coming soon now that we're thinking about it?"

She was about to get up and check her calendar but before she could do so, a surprising sound filled the room. It was coming from outside but sounded pretty close. Not close enough to damage the house but close enough to make it shudder slightly. The leftover food, plates and cubs began to shake slightly as the thing grew louder. Everybody gasped, wondering what was happening. It sounded like...rockets! But who could possibly be landing on Avalice just near Lilac's tree house? The dragon had a good idea on who it was.

"Hey...I think I know who that is!" she cried excitedly.

The dragon then suddenly ran out of the house and her face lit up as she saw what she had expected to see, a rocket landing on the grass and its engines dying down into silence. The shuddering stopped and everything was still again. The rocket was the same rocket she had last seen three weeks ago and carried the familiar markings that she and her friends had drawn on it, a love heart, a paw-print and "Carol Wuz Here". Lilac climbed down the rope ladder and ran over to the parked rocket. The boarding ramp hissed as it lowered down to the ground and out of the ship stepped just the occupant that Lilac had expected to see. It was Torque! The alien Chaser had returned once again to Avalice and only three weeks had passed since she'd last seen him! Torque had come to Avalice to help Lilac and friends defeat Lord Brevon once again and whilst there, Lilac had managed to confess her love for him. He had left that day and yet now, he was back again, looking very happy to be back. Torque wasn't alone though. He was with his best friend and lieutenant, Terra once again. The turquoise alien looked pleased to see the dragon as she stared at the two Chasers delightedly.

"Hey Lilac!" Terra cried gleefully, "Didn't think we'd run into you so suddenly!"

"I'll say." Torque chuckled, "Hello again Lilac. How's it going?"

"TORQUE!" Lilac squealed excitedly.

She ran over to her alien love-interest and threw her arms around him. She kissed him on the lips, pleased to have him in her arms again for the first time since she'd confessed his love for her. Torque hugged Lilac back, pleased to feel her body against his and his lips locking with hers again. To him, it felt like a lifetime had passed since their first kiss. Terra just watched with awe, feeling very happy for the two lovers. Once the kiss had broken up, Torque began to chuckle.

"I take it you missed me again huh?"

"Of course I missed you!" Lilac exclaimed, "I love you Torque and I was really hoping that I'd see you again! I'm really glad you're here!"

"Thank you Lilac, that's very kind of you to say." Torque said graciously, "So how's it been since I left?"

"Believe me, I've got a VEEEEEEEERY long story to tell..." the dragon replied...

* * *

 _ **Well, that's the end of this story! I hope you enjoyed this epic fanfic and all its action, heart and humour**_ ** _and I hope you enjoy the next Freedom Planet fanfic!_**

 ** _Speaking of my next fanfic, it's a Torque story! :D Join me next time as we witness what Torque and Terra have been up to during "The Darkest Day" and "Life in Exile" in their very own solo-story, "Planet of the Serpents"! See you later! ^^_**


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